Pokemon: Arcane Quest (old)
by XcroS26901
Summary: When David, a knight from another realm, is mysteriously transported to the Pokemon world, he enlists the help of Ash and other companions to get back to his own world. (This one is cancelled— Go see the reboot!)
1. Introduction

**POKEMON: ARCANE QUEST**

By IdelacX

Yo! I'm a pretty big fan of Dragon Quest and the Pokemon anime, and I got the idea to mix the two together. This fanfic will take place in an all-new region, called the Terelm region. Every Pokemon (but not all legendaries) can be found here, unlike some *cough* other game. *cough cough*

This fanfic will feature my very own OC, David Herotis. He's not a Dragon Quest OC, he comes from his own universe, but his universe draws from Dragon Quest, so it made sense to me to let Dragon Quest get involved.

A new adventure awaits! Buckle up, and enjoy the ride, folks!


	2. Prologue

The only thing I remember is light all around me, and a somewhat painful feeling. My body feels hollow even though it's not. It's... really weird. What just happened to me? All is black... The only thing I hear is a faraway voice...

"...ey!" The voice echoed. I couldn't hear it all, I was still unconscious. But what were they trying to say?

"Hey! Wake..." ...What? Wake up? Maybe they actually saw me. But I still don't know if that was true. After all, everything's still dark. Suddenly, a blinding light begins to shine as his voice becomes clearer.

"Come on! Just wake up already!" The light intensifies as their voice finally becomes totally clear to me. Until... I finally open my eyes...

When I awaken, the first thing I see is a young boy with a hat, a few trees out of the corner of my eye, and of course, the sky. He heaves a sigh of relief as I open my eyes as much as I can.

"Phew, thank goodness! You're alive!"...Huh? He said that as if I had a near-death experience.

"What're you talking about?" I asked, bewildered. Looking around, it seems as if I was in a clearing of a forest. "...And more importantly, who're you? And where am I?"

"Oh, me?" The boy repeated. "I'm Ash! Nice to meet you!" He stuck out his hand, as if he wanted to pull me up. I got up with his help. "As for where we are, I just went this way chasing after Pikachu. And as we reached this clearing, I saw you falling out of the sky for no reason!"

Wait, falling out of the sky? Since when did that happen? ...Actually, I guess I do remember the sensation of lightweightness... But who was Pikachu?

"Still, Pikachu's been gone for a while," Ash lamented.

"Huh? Who's Pikachu?"

Ash ignored me as he called for Pikachu. A little later, a bush started rustling behind me. I instinctively got into a battle pose. But... why was I doing that? I guess anything can happen when you're in a forest. Eventually, something emerged- something like a yellow mouse with a peculiar tail, and red cheeks? I was still asking myself all that when it jumped onto Ash's shoulder.

"You know, buddy, you really shouldn't run off like that," Ash teased, as he pet the mouse. Wait, THAT was Pikachu? Something weird's going on here. It looked like something you'd see out of a video game or whatever...

"So... that's Pikachu?" I asked.

"Yep! My Pokemon partner." ...But I've never heard of "Pokemon" before. What was he getting at? Still, it was kind of cute, I had to admit. I couldn't resist the urge to try to pet it.

But as soon as my hand made contact, Pikachu flinched, and it released an electric shock that zapped both me and Ash! To tell the truth, that was totally uncalled for! I don't remember anything except flashing yellow lights and the sound of both of us screaming in pain. After what seemed like an eternity, Pikachu finally relented.

"Pi... Pika." It seemed to talk, but what was it saying? Well, it was a monster anyway, so I guess it made sense.

"Sorry. Pikachu's kind of shy around strangers. Oh, yeah! You haven't told me your name."

My name, huh? For some reason, that was the only thing I could remember before waking up wherever here was. I don't remember how I got here, or why I got here, or anything else, for that matter. All I remember is that my name was...

"...David," I finally answered. "David Herotis." I share with Ash that my name was the only thing I could remember.

"Oh," said Ash, somewhat disappointed. "So you lost your memories? That's kind of a bummer. I was hoping to ask why you were falling for no reason."

I was starting to piece things together. "Well, that's one question answered... So, where are we now?"

"We're in a forest, obviously. I got lost. But if you want to know where in the world you are, you're in the Terelm region." Terelm? I've never heard of such a place. But I decided to ask that later. Since we're both lost, the first priority was to get out of here.

"Maybe we can go the same way Pikachu did," I suggested. Ash agreed. Both of us ended up walking in no particular direction, but it was something to go by, right? I kept my hopes up: Eventually we might reach some sort of clearing, and again, hopefully, we'd reach some sign of civilization. And guess what? We actually did! Talk about a miracle! In fact, it looked like we ended up in a market in the middle of the forest. And even a whole castle was in view. We might have ended up in some sort of kingdom, the sight was actually somewhat familiar to me. Ash stretches in relief.

"Ahh... Finally! We're back in Grama!"

"Grama?" I asked. "Is this a kingdom or something?"

"No, because if it was a kingdom, then I would've said 'Grama Kingdom' or something. If anything, it's a subregion in Terelm."

"O... kay... Well, whatever that meant, what should I do now? I really don't remember anything like this back home."

"Oh yeah," Ash realized. "That's right. You... don't really have a place to stay." He was right. I had completely forgotten about that, given all the chaos I went through. I don't know where my home was. And I might never see it again. But no. Hope remained...

"Well, why don't you stay where I'm staying for a bit?"


	3. First Contact

Before I knew it, I was at Ash's place. Or at least, I was standing outside it. It was nothing really notable, it was just a normal house. Not that I expected any more, though.

"So," I began. "This is where you stay, huh?"

"Yep!" Ash responded. "Well, at least for now, until I begin my journey for real."

"Journey?"

"Uh-huh. I've been to several regions, and I've been pursuing my dream of becoming a Pokemon Master."

...Wait. Something about his words stirred inside me. "Pokemon Master?" I've heard those words somewhere before, but where? It was at a time like this where I wished that I didn't lose my memories. I began to think real hard...

...But of course! "Pokemon"... This is a fictional world! But why does it exist? That first question didn't really matter to me; this realization kept me in shock. This meant that I've gone from my world to another... but how did that happen? Why did that happen? So many questions were whirling around my mind when Ash tried to talk to me.

"Hey, are you alright? You're spacing out..." Ash was waving his hand in front of me, trying to get my attention.

"O-Oh! Sorry about that," I blurted. "Just thinking of something."

"Thinking about what?"

Now this was a sticky situation. If I told him that I came from another world, he'd flip out. He might think I was some sort of alien- and I couldn't have that. So I tried to shove that question out of my way:

"N-Now that we're here, why don't we go inside?"

Ash looked somewhat concerned, but he shook it off.

"Well, alright."

When we entered, a voice rang out.

"Welcome back! So, what happened?"

The voice sounded feminine, so it had to be a girl. She seemed to have noticed that both of us entered. It came to the right, but before we could go there, something came at us from the left. It was red, and had weirdly-shaped arms. It had feet, but no legs, which reminded me of some other unimportant person. And it even had a needle-like appendage at the top. It had me totally bewildered.

"Hi, Ash! What did you do?" It surprised me even more when it talked.

"Oh, nothing, Rotom. Just got lost for a bit." Ash seemed to notice my confusion. In fact, it was showing plainly on my face. "What's up?"

"...You know this thing, Ash?"

"Right, I haven't introduced you to it. This is Rotom Dex. Although I just simply call it Rotom."

"And... Uh..." I couldn't find words.

"Nice to meet you!" Rotom flew in front of me, and assumed a welcoming stance, if you could even call it one. "Are you Ash's friend?"

"Well, I guess you could say that. I'm David."

"David... Update complete!"

"'Update?'"

"You see," Ash explained, "Rotom Dex is simply a Pokedex with a Rotom controlling it. It comes in handy when I need some info."

"So an information provider, huh? And I guess it makes sense that you said 'Update complete,' because when you're asking for information, it's always changing."

"Of course," Rotom agreed.

At that, a woman walked up and stopped behind us. When I turned around, she looked somewhat peculiar. She had brown hair, and a pair of glasses that was positioned on her head instead of her face, and a beige shirt with a white lab coat tied around her waist.

"Welcome," she said. "Make yourself at home. I'm Professor Camphor. Why don't we have a talk at the table?"

I decided this was my chance. When all three of us sat down, I explained how I fell right out of the sky (According to Ash) and how I met him, and how I ran into Grama with Ash.

"I see," Camphor said. "This is very extraordinary. Or, rather, supernatural..."

"I don't really remember anything except for what just happened to me today. Meeting Ash and Pikachu, and all that... Actually, just what is Pikachu anyway?"

"...You don't know about Pokemon?" Ash asked, befuddled.

"No, I don't."

"Then allow me to help you!" Rotom insisted. "Pokemon are creatures which people live in harmony with. Pikachu is one of them, and there are many others like it. As a Rotom Dex, I hold data of most, if not all, Pokemon for you to know about."

"Oh! Then that's really helpful!" I pointed out. "...Hm. Then do you think you could read Pikachu's entry?"

"Right away! Pikachu: The mouse Pokemon. An Electric type. It raises its tail to sense its surroundings. If you pull on its tail, it will bite."

"It'll bite?" I couldn't explain why, but I had the urge to try and see if Rotom was right. Pikachu was still on Ash's shoulder. I stealthily raised my hand and pulled on Pikachu's tail a bit.

Now let me just say that I wish I never heard that. As soon as I pulled its tail, Pikachu yelled, and it released another electric shock! I wished Rotom would've been more accurate.

"IT DOESN'T BITE YOU, ROTOM!" I screamed. "IT ACTUALLY SHOCKS YOU!"

"...Oops. Maybe I should have updated my data back when I was in Alola."

* * *

The one in which David makes his first interactions with Pokemon. And of course he had to go do something stupid like that. I guess that's what you get when you fear almost nothing.

Anyway, this is my first fanfic ever made. And I'm hoping I can get you guys interested in the story, because it's gonna get way more interesting later on.


	4. Try, Try Again

After that catastrophe, Ash, Pikachu, and I sat down on a couch with Rotom nearby in another room. I tried to pet Pikachu again, and this time it didn't resist.

"Sorry about that, little guy," I said.

"Pi... Pika-Pi." Pikachu responded.

"Huh? What's it saying?" I haven't noticed until now that I couldn't understand it despite it talking.

"Naturally," Rotom explained, "Pokemon can only say parts of their own names. However, I'm able to talk to you because I'm in a specialized Pokedex designed to speak with people."

"Well, that's interesting. So, Ash, what should I do now that I'm bunking here with you?"

"Umm... Let's see," Ash said. "Ooh! I've got an idea! Why don't you help me with my journey?"

"Huh? Why?"

"You see, I've never been alone in my journey thus far. I've had friends by my side with each new region I've explored. Maybe you could be the other partner I could have here in Terelm!"

"Partners..." The word stirred something within me, like how I realized that this wasn't my world. Although this time, I couldn't recall any memory related to the word. But why...? Well, I decided to answer that question later. Right now, I've got to focus on the present:

"Oh... I dunno, Ash," I muttered. "We just met..."

"Come on, David, it'll be fun! I don't think you've been to Terelm either, so we can explore this region together!"

Exploring the region together... To be honest, the thought perked me up. A whole new world- now that's exciting! It's not every day you go on an adventure like this. I couldn't contain that desire, anyway- it was showing plain on my face with a grin.

"Yeah, that's the spirit!" Ash exclaimed, obviously noticing my enthusiasm. "I knew I could count on you!"

Something told me that I could trust him. It's true we met within a few minutes, but really, I just had this feeling that we could be great friends. I couldn't recall a time when I had companions, so I decided to not let this opportunity slip through my fingers.

"Heh... Guess I couldn't hide it!" I agreed. "Yeah, you're right! I do wanna explore Terelm! And besides, this place is just teeming with Pokemon. Like I said before, I have no knowledge on them myself, and I'm all for learning what Pokemon really are!" I couldn't help but stick my hand out to shake hands with Ash, and he accepted.

This feeling was nothing like the feelings I've experienced before, maybe even in the life I didn't remember. The feeling of establishing a bond with someone- establishing a friendship... It just felt so right!

At Ash's suggestion, we both went outside and went to look for Pokemon. We said goodbye to Camphor as we departed for a place called the Wild Area. Supposedly this "Wild Area" was a place where I could catch Pokemon. On the way, though, I noticed a funny-looking girl. She had pink hair and a striped shirt, but that wasn't worthy of my attention. What piqued my interest was that she had a hair ribbon- although it looked quite odd. But I couldn't put my finger on why. She seemed to have noticed me, as she suddenly perked up and bolted.

"Hey, Ash?" I unintentionally asked.

"Hm? What's up?"

"...Actually, nah. Never mind."

Eventually, we reached the Wild Area. It was so vast...! I had the strange feeling of freedom as I looked out on the horizon. An even more familiar feeling was when a gentle breeze blew, wafting my hair and clothes in the wind.

"So..." I wondered. "This is the Wild Area."

"Yep!" Ash affirmed me. "I've been here myself a few times in hopes of catching another Pokemon."

"Catching?"

"Uh-huh. That's how you use the Wild Area. You encounter Pokemon, fight them, and catch them using a Poke Ball." I was about to ask what a Poke Ball was when he pulled something out of his pocket. "This is a Poke Ball, in case you're wondering. It's a device that allows you to catch Pokemon. Here, I'll give you this one."

I took the Poke Ball and absentmindedly stuffed it in my left pocket. "Well, this's gonna be fun. Let's go."

We wandered around for a bit, looking for Pokemon. Although for some reason I didn't see anything. Were the Pokemon hiding?

"Ash, where're the Pokemon?" I asked, confused.

"Well, that's strange," Ash murmured. I thought there were some around. But then again, they might be hiding in the grass. Let's try looking in that patch there."

At Ash's suggestion, we fumbled around in the tall grass. But I still didn't find anything. I kept my guard up. I heard some sort of noise and the sound of rustling grass, which surprised me. I tried to scare it out of hiding by yelling at it, and it fled. When it ran out of the grass, something emerged. It looked like another Pokemon with gray skin and muscular arms.

"What's that?" I asked.

"That's my cue," Rotom chimed in. "Machop: The superpower Pokemon. A Fighting type. Machop have muscles that never tire, no matter how much they exercise. Machop have enough strength to throw 100 average-sized adults."

"Woah," I gaped. "That's pretty dang strong! But Ash, you said that in order to catch Pokemon, you gotta fight 'em. And I'm ready to do this!" Without a second thought, I ran in front of Ash and put up my dukes.

"D-David!" Ash yelled. "I don't think you need to fight it yourself!"

"Relax," I responded. "I can fight! Or at least, I think I can..."

After that, I charged at Machop and punched it in the shoulder as hard as I could. It flinched, giving me the heads-up that I damaged it somewhat. But it retaliated by kicking at my feet, which caused me to trip, and it sent me flying with a rock-hard uppercut! I ended up landing in front of Ash and Pikachu.

"Oof..." I choked. "That thing's... REALLY strong. I shouldn't have underestimated it."

"I told you not to fight it," Ash sighed.

"What's more," Rotom interjected, "It just used Low Kick. It's a move that most Machop know."

"Well," I said, "Pikachu's probably stronger than me. I'll leave this to you, little guy."

"Pika," Pikachu responded, and it entered a battling stance.

"David," Ash said, "We'll fight Machop for you, but use the Poke Ball to catch it, okay?" I nodded in agreement. "Alright," Ash yelled, "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu instinctively jumps into the air and unleashes its all-too-familiar move. I mean, hey, I've been hit by that like, twice today, so of course I wouldn't recognize it. The Thunderbolt hits Machop, stunning it.

"This is your chance, David!" Ash yelled.

"Right!" I yelled back. I pulled the Poke Ball out of my pocket and hurled it at Machop as hard as I could. It released a red light which sucked Machop in, and it fell to the ground. To my surprise, it ended up shaking on its own! Then again... and again...

But then Machop ended up breaking out of the ball! As soon as it did, it bolted. Disappointed, I tried to pick up the Poke Ball I used for my failed catch attempt. It was broken, so I decided to throw it out later.

"Aw," Ash sighed. "Maybe a Thunderbolt alone wouldn't have been enough."

"That was my only Poke Ball," I remarked. "I don't think I've got another shot at this..."

"Don't worry. I'll give you some more so you have more chances. I've got a lot."

Ash gave me quite a lot of Poke Balls; I think he gave me about twenty. He showed me how to shrink and enlarge them so they could fit in my pocket better. I don't remember how long we spent in the Wild Area, all I remember is that we stayed there as long as I had at least one Poke Ball. But throughout all twenty attempts to catch a Pokemon, all of them broke, and I didn't catch a single one.

"Tough luck," Ash sighed.

"No doubt," I answered. "Look, it's already getting late. Maybe we should go home."

"Yeah. I agree."

* * *

The one in which David tries to catch (and miserably fails) several Pokemon. Well, he'll get it next time! And I might be right.

You might think this was anticlimactic, but sit tight. Something interesting's gonna happen in the next chapter.


	5. Nice to Meet Ya!

After my failure at trying to catch even one Pokemon, I trudged back home with Ash.

"Don't worry about it," Ash consoled me. "Catching Pokemon is hard, anyway. You'll definitely get it next time."

"Yeah, well," I sighed, "Easy for you to say."

"You know, when you feel like giving up, that's when you've gotta try the hardest."

I was confused. "When did I ever say I wanted to give up? I wanna take another shot at this tomorrow."

But it turns out that I didn't need to wait until tomorrow. As we approached Camphor's house, I was about to open the door until I heard-

"Stop! Please, just leave me alone!"

The voice sounded like a child's, so I knew it wasn't Camphor. When I looked behind me, I saw three guys chasing after a girl. Actually, that girl somehow looked familiar, but why? But I shoved that question aside, and, wordlessly, I zoomed after them.

"Woah!" Ash stuttered. "Where're you going, David?! Wait up!"

"Bzzt!" Rotom bleeped. "Is he really chasing those guys?!"

I didn't hear any more as I began to chase those punks down. We turned some corners, but where I was didn't matter to me- I just had to save that girl. Actually, I don't know why I was doing this, but I just couldn't resist my impulses. Eventually, we reached a sort of alleyway, which, no doubt, was a dead end. This gave me time to get a good look at who I was looking at- they were all wearing some sort of black-and-white uniform, but they each had different hair colors, being red, marine, and green.

"Alright, kid," the red-haired pursuer cackled. "Just sit tight while we bring you to the base."

"N-No!" The girl shrieked. "Just stay away, please! What did I do to you?!"

"That doesn't matter," the marine-haired one laughed. "The fact that we're doing this for the boss is all that matters."

"And, we'll get a bonus," the green-haired one remarked. "Talk about a win-win, boys!" At his words, the others laughed with him.

"F-Fine!" The girl exclaimed. "You leave me no choice! Guess I'll just have to fi-"

"Forget it. You don't even stand a chance," The green-haired chaser interrupted. "You're coming with us, and nothing's gonna change that!"

"Oh, yeah?" I yelled. "Wanna bet?!"

All three of them turned around more or less at the same time, and yelled "What was that?!" in distinct unison. But their synchronicity didn't bother me- I just rushed in there, dukes held up, and at breakneck speed, I socked them all in the face as hard as I could. Surprisingly, in just one hit each, they all went down and fell unconscious. Afterward, I stepped over their bodies (No, they're not... well, you know) and tried to reach out to the girl that was being chased. Upon closer inspection, she was... the same girl I saw earlier! No doubt about it, she really was the same one.

"W-Woah..." The girl gaped in awe. "Thank you, mister!"

"We shouldn't stay here any longer," I pointed out. "We gotta get outta here."

I took her hand and led her out of the alley and started to walk back towards Camphor's house. It was at this time I heard Ash's and Rotom's voices, calling for me. The girl perked up and quickly hid behind me. I didn't have time to reassure her as both of them emerged from the corner.

"There you are, David!" Rotom bleeped. "Why'd you run off?"

"You were acting strangely, too," Ash noted. "What's up?"

I knew there was no point in fibbing, so I stepped aside, revealing the girl behind me. She perked up again as she came into view.

"She was being chased by some weird dudes," I explained. "So I helped her out." I showed them the same alley where I punched those punks into the dream world.

"How'd you knock them out?" Ash asked.

"Uh..." I stuttered. I couldn't help but grin nervously and hold up my fists. Sometimes, actions speak louder than words.

"No way! You actually fought them yourself?!"

"Well, they were different than that Machop. They actually didn't put up a fight."

Rotom, who has not said anything for a while, flew in front of the girl and started taking pictures of her- which I did not know it was capable of. But I guess that's natural, considering that it's really just a Pokemon-controlled Pokedex.

After a while, the girl shook me a little. "Um, misters, I don't mean to interrupt, but we really need to go somewhere safe. Those guys might wake up any moment."

"Oh, you're right," I realized. "Let's get to Camphor's house, ASAP."

All of them agreed, and by the time we reached her house, it was almost nighttime. I took the kid's hand like before, and all of us went into the same room Ash and I hung out earlier today. Camphor hadn't noticed that we came back.

"So," I asked. "Why were those punks chasing you?"

"I, um, don't know," she murmured. "I was just minding my own business when those guys came out of nowhere and chased me down. I'm really glad you helped me."

"By the way," Ash noted, "I've noticed that you look kind of... odd. I don't know why, but you just do."

"Oh!" The girl perked up. "I was wondering how long it would take for the two of you to notice. You see, I'm a Hybrimon!" She was beaming.

"A Hybrimon? I've never heard of such a thing."

"You see, I'm basically just a person with Pokemon abilities."

"Wait, seriously?! You have Pokemon abilities?!"

"Uh-huh! That means I can fight, just like a Pokemon would!"

"That's totally awesome!" Ash exclaimed in wonder.

"Hybrimon...?" Rotom asked itself. "This is most interesting! Data updated!"

"Well, that's very interesting," I agreed. "Why can you fight like a Pokemon?"

"I don't know," the girl said, "But I'm not complaining! In fact, I really like it!"

"I see. Mind if you tell me your name?"

"My name? I'm Liana! Nice to meet ya!"

"Liana," Rotom chimed in. "Do you mind if you tell me about yourself? I'd like to update my data even further!"

"Oh... I guess so. Well, some people call me an 'octopus Hybrimon,' and I'm a Normal and Electric type. I have the ability to fire specialized ink that debilitates my foes' defense, and I can electrify it, too."

"I see... Thank you! Hybrimon entry complete!"

"Liana," I interrupted, "For a while, I've wondered why your hair ribbon looks so weird. I just can't place my finger on why."

"Oh! This?" She tugged on her ribbon a little. "You see, it's not really a hair ribbon- it's a ribbon made out of my actual tentacle-like hair."

"Hair... made of tentacles?" Well, that was something I'd never stop wondering about. I was still processing that when I noticed she was still looking at me. "What's up, kiddo?"

"David, right?" she asked. I nodded to tell her that she got my name right. "Um, David... could you catch me?"

"Catch you?!" I was bewildered! I thought Pokemon (and maybe Hybrimon) were supposed to avoid getting caught!

"Well, yeah! You saved me, right? I think I can trust you."

I grinned to show that I'd be more than happy to. She smiled, too. At her suggestion, we went outside so there'd be more space for me to throw a Poke Ball. I took one out of my pocket (after Ash gave me some more), and winded up to throw.

"W-Wait!" Liana yelled. "That's not gonna-"

But I didn't listen. She was interrupted as soon as I hit her with the ball. She went inside, and the ball shook a few times. But then it stopped entirely, with no reaction.

"Uh... Ash?" I asked him. "Did I do it?"

"Well... it hasn't really caught her for some reason. You see that button on the Poke Ball? If it flashes green, that's the signal. But it usually flashes green after three shakes..."

So I waited for that indicator. I waited... and waited... but still no green flash.

"Ash, I think it's bust- Woah!" I exclaimed. The Poke Ball was shaking wildly now, and it was flashing purple. Eventually, the ball broke as Liana flew out. She sighed.

"Poke Balls don't work," Liana muttered. "It's because I'm actually human, remember?"

"...Oh." I sighed. "So... does this mean I really can't catch you?"

"I think you should use this!" She threw another Poke Ball at me, and I caught it before it beaned me in the face. Although it looked different. "That's a Hybri Ball. All Hybrimon carry one of those with them so that they can give them to a trainer they like. It should work on me!"

"Alright, guess it's not hopeless after all!" I chucked the Hybri Ball, and this time, I caught her. I picked her Hybri Ball up. For some reason, I felt... oddly happy. When Ash said "catch," I was thinking capture, like the way a hunter would catch their prey. But it seemed totally different.

"Well now," Ash applauded. "Your first catch! How does it feel?"

"It's totally awesome!" I answered. "Now, how do I send her out?"

"Just throw the ball."

Following Ash's advice, I threw Liana's Hybri Ball in the air. The ball quickly opened, and this time, it released a blue light, and after the light dissipated, Liana emerged. Out of nowhere, she smiled and jumped onto me! Reflexively, I held onto her with my arms.

"Well, now that you've done it, we're officially partners! What do you think about that?"

"Heheh, it's the best!"

* * *

The one in which David finally gets his first catch! I knew he could do it!

For clarification, Hybrimon can't be caught in normal Poke Balls because they're meant for Pokemon. Because Hybrimon are part human and Pokemon, they can go into a normal Poke Ball, albeit for a while before they break it and get out of the ball, regardless if they do so intentionally or unintentionally.

After all this buildup, it's time to get to the part where things get interesting.


	6. Time to Fight!

The next day, I woke up (On a couch, since there wasn't another bedroom, and Ash took it) to the sensation of something touching my face occasionally. Only when I opened my eyes did I see the cause: Liana, on top of my body, poking random parts of my face, trying to make me wake up.

"Finally!" Liana sighed. "You're finally awake! By golly, do you even know how late it is?"

"Umf..." I mumbled. "Liana... why'd you have to wake me up...?"

She dropped her head in disappointment, and I winced slightly from the minor impact of her faceplanting into my chest. "Did you really not hear me? I said, do you even know how late it is? It's, like, afternoon already! And aren't we supposed to meet with Ash at the Wild Area?"

Her words made me jolt up. I zoomed out of the couch, grabbed my conveniently-placed breakfast (Which consisted of a slice of toast and some "Sitrus Berry" jam) off the table and gobbled it up ASAP, almost choking once, put on my outdoor clothes, then I grabbed Liana's hand and dashed out the door.

Within 1 minute (Which is like, 5 times faster than when I first got there, and I mean it!) I was at the Wild Area, out of breath. Liana was frozen stock-still, surprised at my incredible speed. And Ash, who was standing there, kept an oddly straight face.

"S-Sorry..." I hyperventilated. "*gasp*... that I'm... *gasp* late..."

"It's fine," Ash said, to my surprise. "Maybe you were just tired. And besides, I just trained with Pikachu while we waited."

"D-David..." Liana said, still somewhat shocked. "I... had no idea you could run so fast...!"

After I caught my breath and Liana could move again, the three of us went into the Wild Area for real. Of course, I decided to try to catch another Pokemon right away. Liana must have known what I was thinking, because she squeezed my hand and gave me a cute smile. I didn't know why, but I could tell she was more than willing to help me.

Unlike yesterday, there were now more Pokemon. They weren't all hiding in the grass, which made things a lot more convenient. I looked around until I found a pretty good target.

"Liana," I asked, "Do you think we can try to catch that one?" She nodded in response. "Alright, then, let's go for it!"

The two of us rushed towards it, taking it by surprise. Liana ran in front of me and entered a battle stance as we both skidded to a halt. Ash and the others, who had noticed that we bolted, took off after us.

"David, you really need to stop running off like that!" Rotom scolded.

"Y-Yeah," I stammered. "Guess so. Anyway, who's that Pokemon we're fighting? Can you read its entry?"

Rotom bleeped for a while as it searched for the Pokemon's entry. After a while, it gave me some info.

"Chespin: the spiny nut Pokemon. A Grass type. Chespin can flex the soft spikes on its head, making them so stiff and sharp they can even pierce through stone."

"A Chespin? Looks kind of weak, but we shouldn't underestimate it. Are you ready to fight, Liana?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," she reassured me.

However, I ran into a problem right away. I didn't know what moves she was capable of using. So I ended up standing there, mouth hanging open. Liana didn't move a muscle, as she waited for my orders. But Chespin, who realized we weren't making a move, charged in and rolled into Liana at breakneck speed, which Rotom noted was Rollout. This snapped me out of my "trance," so I decided to take action.

"L-Liana!" I yelled. "Just use anything!"

She positioned her fingers so it looked like a "finger gun," and put her hand to her temple. She imitated shooting herself, and when she did, some ink that she described the other day, flew out of her head, and quickly moved her "gun" to absorb all the ink. Afterward, she imitated shooting again, causing "ink bullets" to go flying. The bullets ended up splattering all over Chespin, and it was painted pink. Rotom could not recognize the move, as it stated never saw anything like it, nor could it find any record of such a move being used within its database.

"That," Liana remarked, "Was Ink Shower. It's a move only Hybrimon like me can use. Now Chespin's more vulnerable! What should I do next?"

"Um, uh... Do anything but Ink Shower! You should be able to take this chance to hit it with a strong attack!"

Wordlessly, Liana took off and charged after Chespin. She ended up going faster and faster until she bashed it with her full body and rebounded back to me. Rotom quickly recognized the move, and told me that Liana was capable of using Quick Attack. Now Chespin looked like it was really weak! I pulled a Poke Ball from my pocket, and winded up to throw.

However, a laugh cut through the air, and before I knew it, a net flew towards Liana and Chespin, and it caught both of them! Unknown to me, another net went flying and captured Pikachu, too! All three of them were yelling as both nets were pulled towards the source, and when I looked up towards a nearby hill, I could see four silhouettes.

"Alright," I yelled, "Cut it out! What do you want with them?!"

"Prepare for trouble," one of the voices said.

"And make it double!" another one added. I realized both voices were going back and forth, a phrase which here means "The voices alternated."

"To protect the world from devastation..."

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love..."

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"And James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare for an intense fight!"

"Meow, that's right!"

At that moment, they were no longer silhouettes. I don't know how they pulled that, they must be super-skilled illusionists. Two of them looked human, one being a gal with pink, long hair, and the other being a guy with blue, unkempt hair. The other two were Pokemon. One of them looked like a bipedal cat, but the other one, which was totally blue, was totally unrecognizable. One minor quirk about their sequence was that the last line was spoken by a totally different voice, and another major quirk was that the voice belonged to the cat. What the heck?! Cats don't talk! But as I was processing all that, Ash was clenching his fists.

"Team Rocket!" He yelled. "You're so persistent!"

"Team Rocket?" I asked.

"Bad guys who try to steal other people's Pokemon,"

"Of course, twerp," Jessie said, who was the pink-haired gal. "Our #1 mission is to capture Pikachu. I thought you knew that."

"And," James added, who was the blue one, "That other trainer-twerp right there gets lumped in just because he's your friend!"

"Wobbu," the blue figure agreed.

"Wait..." I seethed, infuriated. "What did you just call me?! TWERP?! **WHAT THE HECK?! **And just because I'm Ash's friend?! What's wrong with you?!"

"Well, well, well," the cat piped up, "What do we have here? A twerp who doesn't accept his identity?"

This enraged me even more, but I could see that behind one of the nets, Liana was crying in fear. "D-David! Help me, please!" I couldn't stand to see her like that. I wanted to do something! But something told me that these guys would put up even more of a fight than that Machop I fought yesterday.

"The nerve...! Let 'em go!" I yelled. "Or I'm gonna do something nasty!"

"Why would we?" Jessie mocked me. "After all, Pikachu's ours. As well as that... twerpish fighting girl over here."

"She'd be a great addition to the team, Jessie," James noted.

"Dig it," the cat said. "Time to bail!"

At the cat's words, the quartet of villains bolted. Instinctively, both of us took off after them. For some reason I was running faster than Ash, maybe it was because I couldn't stand to see them commit the crime of kidnapping. Team Rocket must have known that I was going to attack, because they quickly turned around and got ready to fight. The cat and the blue figure jumped in front of the other two kidnappers.

"Just who're those Pokemon, Ash?" I asked, still mad. "I think you've known them far longer than I have."

"That short one's Meowth," Ash informed me. "And the blue one's Wobbuffet. Meowth's a Normal type, and Wobbuffet's a Psychic type."

But before he even finished, I dashed forward, yelling as loud as I could. For some reason, this familiar feeling... it intensified throughout the whole ordeal. It got even stronger and stronger until I could feel new power coursing through me! I stuck my right arm out to the side, and curled my hand into a fist as hard as I could, and I swung at Meowth with all my might!

A handle fills my hand, and the blade, which no doubt connected, sent Meowth flying. For some reason, I had conjured a sword! Apparently it was entirely orange- the handle, the hilt, even the blade. I could even feel the slight pressure of a sheath resting gently on my back. But I decided there was time to wonder how I did that later. At breakneck speeds, I dashed over to the nets and sliced through them like they were nothing. A chorus of "No!"s echoed from the villains as their nets were destroyed, and the Pokemon released. I grabbed Pikachu, Chespin, and Liana all at once, and jumped back to Ash. Liana, who was still crying, hugged me as tightly as she could.

"D-David," Ash asked with surprise, "What did you just do?"

"Not sure," I responded. "But I'm not complaining." I kneeled down and pet Liana, trying to comfort her. "It's alright, kiddo. You're safe now."

She looked up at me, and I wiped her tears. She put on a confident smile, and she nodded to signal she wanted to fight with me. Both of us stood against the villains, and Ash and Pikachu joined us, too.

"Time to fight! Let's unleash our counterattack!" I rallied. A chorus of "Yeah!"s rang throughout our team. "Liana! Use Ink Shower!"

Liana fires several ink bullets, and to my surprise, it hits both Meowth and Wobbuffet.

"Pikachu," Ash yelled, "Use Electro Web!"

Pikachu generates a ball of electricity from its tail, and when it "throws" it, the electric ball disperses to form a web. It pins both Meowth and Wobbuffet down. "This is your chance, David!" Ash pointed out.

I rushed as quickly as I could and slashed with all my might. The slash destroys the Electro Web, and KOs Wobbuffet in one hit. Meowth goes flying, but it's still up and kicking. When it lands, Jessie gives an order.

"Meowth! Rough that twerp up with Fury Swipes!"

Meowth bars its claws, and it runs up to me, swinging its arms wildly. I yell in pain as its claws dig into my skin. This only fuels my rage even more. At my next opportunity, I grab Meowth and throw it as high as I possibly can. Afterward, I open up my left hand and begin to concentrate.

"Take this! FRIZZ!" I yell from the top of my lungs. A fireball appears, hovering over my left hand, and when I swing my arm, the fireball goes flying and lands a direct hit, KOing Meowth. I quickly jump back to the foot of the hill.

"Now, Pikachu," Ash exclaimed, "Finish them off! Use Thunderbolt!"

"Liana," I bellowed, "Support Pikachu! Use the strongest move you know!"

Both Pikachu and Liana jump as high as they can. Pikachu releases a bolt of electricity, and Liana does the same, albeit colored pink. The combo attack is so strong it sends the villains flying. The only thing I hear as they fly off into the sky is a synchronized "We're blasting off again!" as they finally disappear.

Gasping for breath, I sheathe my sword. I feel totally drained somehow. Is this how a fight always feels like? These were my only thoughts as I finally black out...

* * *

The one in which David awakens to his powers! And it looks like our heroes have had a run-in with Team Rocket...

So, yeah, as you just read, David has magic powers. As for why, well, that's something you may or may not find out. And now you know why Dragon Quest's affiliated with this crossover fanfic.


	7. Mental Fog

I woke up to the sensation of something touching my face occasionally. When I opened my eyes, Liana was on top of my body and was poking me again.

"Finally!" Liana sighed. "You're finally awake! By golly, do you even know how late it is?"

"Uh..." I said. "I'm getting some deja vu... You do know you're repeating what you said this morning, right?" I sat up, and she giggled as I hugged her. "But I'm so glad I managed to save you... Who knows what would've happened if those bad guys captured you?"

"Well, I wouldn't have escaped had it not been for your help. But really, how did you do that? You were all, 'SLICE!' and 'BOOM!' You just made that sword out of thin air! And you even shot an Ember at that Meowth! Are you actually a Hybrimon?"

"It's not an Ember, it's a Frizz. And I assure you, I'm not a Hybrimon. Do I have a Hybri Ball with me?"

She pulled something out of my pocket. "You have mine," she teased.

"Well, yeah, but I don't have a Hybri Ball pertaining to me to give to someone." I took the Hybri Ball back and put it in my pocket. Now that I think about it, this wasn't Camphor's house. I got out of my bed and strapped my sheath (Which had my sword in it) onto my back. "Where are we, kiddo?"

"We're in the Pokemon Center," she answered.

"What's a Pokemon Center?"

"It's a place in which trainers can heal their Pokemon," Ash explained. At this point, I've left my room and joined up with Ash. Liana seemed to be healed, as well as Pikachu. "I don't know how you did it, but you just got that sword out of nowhere, which was totally awesome! And you even saved Liana and Pikachu. I owe you."

"Eh... It's fine. You don't need to do anything for me in return. It just doesn't feel right." I suddenly remembered something. "Oh, yeah! How'd I get here, anyway? And what happened to Chespin?"

"Chespin was already gone when we finished the fight, so I assumed it left. Liana and I carried you all the way to the Pokemon Center. And... really, you're kinda heavy. I think you could afford to lose some weight," he snickered. I couldn't help but chuckle at his little tease. Although, for some reason, something was bugging me. "David? Something wrong?" Ash asked.

"How did I make that sword?" I asked myself. "And why? Obviously, normal humans don't have that kind of power. Is there something I'm missing? I'm a human, not Hybrimon, so I shouldn't be able to fight on my own. But I can. So why?"

Maybe the reason why was behind my memories, which, to my regret, were no closer than they were to coming back to me.

"Well, it doesn't really matter. It's so cool! I've never seen anyone do that before! Anyone would think you're from another world or something!"

I flinched slightly at his words. Did he figure me out?! Shoot, this is bad! It's only a matter of time before he-

"David?" Liana was tugging at my sleeve to get my attention. "You're really pale. What's up?"

"Huh?!" I gasped. "Oh, uh, nothing, kiddo! Heheh... Yeah... It's totally cool."

After that, it was nighttime, and we were ready to leave the Pokemon Center. We headed straight to Camphor's house. For some reason, it was oddly... empty. I'm not saying that in the sense that the house had been entirely stripped of its furniture. I'm saying that in the sense that I couldn't detect Camphor's presence. Sure, I never saw her around that much, but it just felt that way.

"Ash?" I asked. "Is it just me, or does it feel like Camphor's not here?"

"Yeah," Ash agreed. "The house has never felt like this before. Maybe she left?"

"I think we should search the house," Liana pointed out. Both of us agreed. We split up. I don't know where exactly Ash and Liana went, but that didn't matter to me. I was looking around the kitchen, when I noticed, as I was about to leave, a note on the dining table I hadn't noticed before.

"Hey, guys!" I hollered. "I found something!"

A little later, everyone else went over to where I was, and I began to read the note.

"Dear Ash and David," I read, "I'm sorry about this. Something urgent came up, and I had to leave Grama. For now, the house's all yours, but don't do anything reckless. There's plenty of food, so you shouldn't worry. Ash, I know you're starting your journey very soon, so I've sent a package for both you and David. It should arrive tomorrow. As for me, I'll be back in a few days. Yours, Professor Camphor."

"Guess I was right," Ash said.

"Phew," Liana sighed. "I thought she would've been kidnapped or something..."

"Kidnapped?" I repeated. "Woah, kiddo, that's kind of a stretch. But what's she sending?"

Since it was late, and we had nothing better to do, we decided to go to sleep. Ash went up to his room, and Liana and I went to the couch. As I lied down, Liana climbed up and rested on top of my body the way she did yesterday.

But even after the lights went out, I couldn't fall asleep. Those questions were still whirling around my mind. Why? How? I just wanted to get to the bottom of it, but I couldn't. I guess that's how you describe helplessness. After a while, I couldn't take it anymore. Slowly getting up, making sure not to wake Liana, and gently putting her back down on the couch, I tiptoed to the front door, and silently opened it and left.

No, I didn't go far. In fact, I didn't go anywhere at all. I just went over to the front steps, and sat down on the porch to let my mind wander. I felt like there was something I was missing, kind of like when you're about to finish a jigsaw puzzle but the last piece wouldn't fit, and you had to do it all over again. I opened my hand and a fireball appeared, the same way it did when I used Frizz in the fight. It was like magic.

But why did I have this ability? I was glad I had it, but for some reason, it also brought some sort of despair. Maybe I really was Hybrimon after all. Or maybe I'm... not even...? No, no, no... that's not right. I know I'm human. I couldn't be Hybrimon because I didn't have a Hybri Ball. And besides, whenever I came to this world, I knew I couldn't have had a Hybri Ball before my arrival.

On another topic, I didn't like that I had something to hide. If I told Ash and Liana that I came from another world, they'd probably treat me like I was some sort of alien and chase me out. I don't want to lose my friends. Ash was getting onto me earlier, and that clearly wasn't a good sign. Maybe at some point I might have to... No, I didn't want to think about it. The thought terrified me.

And do I really want to go back? This world is filled to the brim with all sorts of exciting stuff. Pokemon... I'm sure this is something my world didn't have. I couldn't remember what my world had to offer, but whatever it was, this was a million times better. I wanted to stay.

I didn't want to leave.

* * *

The one in which David contemplates his past. And he doesn't get pretty far.

You might be wondering what's going to happen next, but sit tight. Things are gonna get even more interesting.


	8. Don't Hold Back!

The next day, I woke up to... no, not Liana waking me up, since I didn't have anything to do, really. Actually, both of us jolted awake to the sound of a doorbell. Did we have a visitor? I held Liana in my arms and went to the front door. When I opened it, there was a deliveryman holding a package.

"Is this Professor Camphor's house?" He asked.

"Yes, it is," I responded.

"Then... are you Professor Camphor?"

"No. I'm just a guest of hers. Although when she left, she left a note saying that we'd get a package of some sort. She said it was for us."

"Oh. Well, then, here you go." He gave me the package, and he left. At this moment Ash was already up, and he was coming downstairs.

"What's that?" He asked, immediately noticing the package.

"It's the package Camphor sent us," I replied. "Let's see what's inside, shall we?"

We all went to the table and put the package there. I carefully opened the package, making sure not to damage any of its contents. I was surprised to see not one, but two gauntlets. However, both only fit on my right hand, so I had to give the other one to Ash. There was even a manual inside the package. But why? Why would anyone need a manual to use a gauntlet? Ash had already taken it from the box and began reading it.

"The Ultigauntlet," he read. "A tool crucial to a trainer's journey." I didn't remember all that he read out, but I do remember three things that sounded important, and the Ultigauntlet was capable of doing all of these: Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, and Dynamaxing. Ash was familiar with the first two, and he explained them to me. Apparently Mega Evolution was a special kind of "evolution" that powered up certain Pokemon and changed their appearance until the end of the battle. And Z-Moves were specialized attacks that Pokemon and trainers use in unison to brutalize their foe. However, he didn't know what Dynamaxing was.

Rotom bleeped behind me as it began to update its data.

I took the manual and tried to find it. "Dynamaxing... Ah, here it is!" I said. "Dynamaxing is a phenomenon where Pokemon drastically grow in size after returning the Pokemon to their Poke Ball and using the Ultigauntlet's power to expand a Pokemon's Poke Ball's size and throwing it. Dynamaxed Pokemon are able to use Max Moves, special kinds of moves until they go back to normal. Select Pokemon are even able to Gigantamax and use special G-Max Moves."

Ash seemed befuddled. "Dynamaxing?" He asked. "Now that's basically just Mega Evolution and Z-Moves thrown together. The only thing that's different is making the Pokemon grow huge. And I can't even use Dynamaxing yet."

"Huh? Why?"

"You see, Pikachu is my only Pokemon right now, and it doesn't like going into its Poke Ball. And Dynamaxing requires the Pokemon going into their Poke Ball, so I can't do it."

"Pika," Pikachu agreed.

"Oh. I see."

"But one of these days," he piped up, "I'm going to catch another Pokemon, and then I can Dynamax!"

I smiled at his confidence. I decided to inspect the Ultigauntlet a little more. There was a blue orb at the center of the back of the gauntlet, and a slot at the top of the wrist section. There was also a panel at the bottom of the wrist section. I assumed these were all essentials for unleashing these powers. Since I had nothing, I just had to go with it. But Ash pulled something out of his pocket and put it in the Ultigauntlet's slot. It looked like a crystal, and it was shaped like a bolt of thunder. Ash explained that this was a Pikashunium Z- A Z-Crystal he obtained in his journey in Alola, which was one of several regions in this world.

We decided to go try this out. We went to the Wild Area, and...

"Wait, what?!" I cried in disbelief. "You're asking ME to fight Pikachu?!"

"Yeah, of course!" Ash smiled. "I wanna see how well you can battle. I've never seen anyone with the ability to fight on their own! So, please? Will you please battle me?"

I sighed at his request. Sure, something inside me was brewing. I could tell this was my fighting spirit. I wanted to fight him, but was it really right? ...I figured yes, it was alright. After all, if Pikachu got hurt or something, Ash could always take it to the Pokemon Center. I smiled and drew my sword from its sheath.

"Fine, but don't hold anything back, okay? 'Cause I won't!"

"Yeah! The harder the opponent, the more exciting the battle gets! Ready, buddy?"

Pikachu nodded, and it stepped in front of Ash, ready to fight. Liana tugged on my shirt to get my attention. "What's up, kiddo?" I asked her.

"Normally," she explained, "Trainers in Pokemon battles give their Pokemon orders. But... uh, since you're the one fighting, would it be alright if I tell you what moves to use?"

"Well..." I hesitated. "I guess... only if you've got a plan. To be honest, it doesn't seem right to me, but if you've got a plan, you can tell me what moves to use, and I'll trust you."

She grimaced a little, but she smiled and nodded. Pikachu and I had a sort of stand-off.

"This seems worth recording," Rotom piped up. "I'll be the referee! The battle will end when either side is unable to continue. Ready? And... GO!"

I decided to make the first move. I charged in there and got ready to swing my blade at Pikachu.

"Dodge it, buddy!" Ash yelled.

Pikachu jumps high in the air as my sword slams into the grass.

"Use Thunderbolt!"

A jolt of electricity rushes from Pikachu's pouches on its cheeks, and gets concentrated into a powerful Thunderbolt. I dodge just before the Thunderbolt makes contact with the ground, causing a small explosion. When I land, I concentrate and open my left hand again. I open my mouth to yell "Frizz!" before hurling the fireball at Pikachu. Pikachu lands and gets hit by the Frizz due to it landing directly in the fireball's path.

One thing I quickly noticed, though, was that I could feel the power within me draining away slightly. What was up with that? I decided to deal with that later and focused on the fight. I rush forward and go in for another slash to start a combo. Ash yells to dodge the attack ASAP, and Pikachu dodges to the side and goes for a Quick Attack by Ash's orders. Unable to dodge quickly, I get bashed by Pikachu's whole body... directly in the face. Ouch. In fact, that actually hurt a lot! But I don't give up. I jump back to Liana.

"Got a plan?" I asked.

"I, um..." Liana wasn't responding. Either she was thinking up a plan, or she was stunned by the whole battle. I nod to let her know that it's fine, and I turn back to Pikachu. I charge another Frizz and throw it. I rush at high speed, hoping to perform a combo. Trying to read out Pikachu's moves, I jump behind it. And it all goes to plan. Pikachu is surprised by my speed, and it doesn't notice the Frizz. It hits, and I follow up with a slash attack, which also hits. I try to go in for one more attack, but Ash yells out something I didn't see coming.

"Pikachu! Stop his sword with Iron Tail!"

Within seconds, Pikachu's tail glows and it swings its own tail at me. But instead of hitting my sword, it somehow catches me in the throat. Maybe I didn't position my sword right. Now, let me just say that a normal tail attack would hurt a lot less, because the blow almost knocks me down. But I'm not going to stop until the end! I get ready for another Frizz and throw it right in Pikachu's face. Another hit.

Both of us are totally weak now, and one more hit could finish either of us off. I decide to go in for the finisher with one more Frizz... but it doesn't happen. The fireball doesn't fly at Pikachu. In fact, I couldn't feel any more magic power. This was troublesome. Now I couldn't use any magic attacks?! Come on, gimme a break! I decide to resort to physical moves. I go in for one more attack. But that... was a wrong move. I end up tripping due to my low stamina. Ash takes his chance.

"Finish him off with Thunderbolt!"

Everything after that was a blur. I remember seeing a yellow glow, and an all-too-familiar sense of pain. Afterward, I blacked out...

When I come to, I see Liana putting her hands over me. Her hands are glowing pink for some reason. Was she about to use Ink Shower on me?! I roll away quickly and reach for my sword, but it's not in its sheath. But then I calm down. Of course Liana wouldn't do that.

"Were you... healing me?" I ask.

"Yup. But you lost the battle," she responded regrettably.

"I have to say," Ash said, "That was awesome! That battle you gave was so good. You almost won your first match, but you still lost."

I get up with Ash's help, then we shake hands.

"Good fight," I said, expressing my sportsmanship.

* * *

The one in which David has his first friendly battle. And, unfortunately, he loses.

You might have thought I was gonna throw something out as usual, but you gotta have that dramatic pause. Also, I'm sorry this came up late. I had personal stuff to deal with.


	9. Black in French

By the time we got back to Grama Town, Ash seemed oddly... quiet.

"What's up, dude?" I asked. No response. "Something wrong?"

"Alright!" He suddenly yelled and took me by surprise. "No more waiting around! Time to take on the Gym Challenge for real!"

"Gym Challenge?" I asked, still (suddenly) surprised.

"Oh, that's right. You haven't heard of it. In the Gym Challenge, trainers go around the region, challenging Gym Leaders to battles. If they win, they get a Gym Badge as proof of their victory. And once you beat them all, you can participate in the Pokemon League!"

"The Pokemon League?"

"Yep! It's often shortened as a 'League,' though. It's a huge tournament, and the winner becomes the Champion of the region! I've actually won the Alola League, so who knows? Maybe I'll be able to win this one, too!"

"But... where's all this energy coming from?" I asked. I was wondering why he was so worked up.

"I... actually challenged the Grama Gym before. And I lost. So I wanted to train before I challenged the Gym Leader again. And I've actually beat a person who can fight...! I think that means I've got what it takes now."

"Well, that's true," Rotom spoke up. "But David just awoke to his power, and I don't think he can use it to his full potential yet. In short, I don't think he was able to put up a good fight. Maybe if he unleashed everything on you, maybe he'd win this time." I nodded in agreement.

"W-Well, yeah... I guess so," Ash stuttered. "Wanna come with me? I know how to get there."

I nodded again. Going on a journey for real would be beyond awesome! I'd be able to see more of Terelm, even outside of Grama. I wondered... How much does this world have to offer? I followed Ash as we turned a few corners as we went to Grama Gym.

However, we heard the sound of bikes... no, motorcycles, roaring nearby, and it was getting closer. Their wheels kicked up a cloud of dust, and when we could see again, we were surrounded by... the same guys from before?! No, it wasn't Team Rocket. I'm talking about the guys who had Liana's back up against a wall and I punched unconscious. The three villains cackled as they dismounted. Liana, who had remained silent all this time, was clutching my hand and trembling.

"Team Noir, what do you even want with me?!" She shrieked. "Just what do I need to do to stop you from stalking me?!"

"Huh?" Rotom asked. "Team Noir?"

"They're bad guys like Team Rocket. Although they take it a step further- Not only do they steal Pokemon, they commit all other sorts of crimes, like thievery, arson, so on. And nine times out of ten, their crimes are targeted Hybrimon for some reason."

"That's right," the crimson-haired guy laughed. "As the kid said, we're members of Team Noir: Rohi, Nilam, and Odhra."

"As for why we're here," the marine one cackled, who was Nilam, "We're here to pay you back for the fiasco a few days ago. Or was that yesterday? Well, whatever. That doesn't matter."

"Not just you, kid," Odhra, the green dude continued, "We don't want just you to come with us to the boss." At this, he pointed at me. "We're gonna beat you up so hard when you wake up, you'll be anywhere but in Terelm!"

I sighed. I was really hoping I wouldn't run into these guys again. "You haven't learned your lesson, huh?" I asked sarcastically. "Well, no problem. I'll just smash your faces in again!" I drew my sword.

"So, you've got a fancy-pants weapon, huh?" Rohi mocked me. But his taunt didn't faze me. "Sure, we may have even numbers- but we've still got an advantage. So let's make the most of it, boys!"

All three of them sent out a Pokemon each- who, as Rotom explained, were a Nickit, a Stunky, and a Weavile. I put my back to Ash's, who had Pikachu prepare for a fight. Liana wasn't looking very enthusiastic.

"Hey, you don't have to fight if you don't want to," I reassured her.

"No, I don't _not_ want to fight..." She responded. "It's just that I'm mortified, since my life's on the line here...! But I'm not going to just lie down and hand my future to them."

"Well said. Alright, let's go for it! Use Ink Shower!"

I help her out by picking her up and throwing her up in the air as high as I can, then she fires ink bullets at the enemies. She deliberately avoids shooting at either me or Pikachu so our defenses aren't debilitated. The attack lands on all three of our foes. I decide to take my chance and attack Nickit. The attack that lands deals slightly more damage thanks to Liana's ink.

"Ash," I mutter, "We should team up to take one target down, then rinse and repeat. I don't know why, but I just think that kind of tactic will work."

"Alright," he agrees. "Pikachu! Use Quick Attack on Nickit!"

"Liana! Help Pikachu with your Quick Attack, too!"

Both of them rush Nickit down and land their Quick Attacks. Nickit looked like it was about to collapse any moment now.

"Use Tail Whip!" Rohi yells. Nickit turns around quickly and starts flailing its tail around. For some reason, I felt like I didn't need to put my guard up so much. But then, out of nowhere, I get attacked by Weavile, who was also using Quick Attack! For some reason, it hurt more than it should've, but I guess that's what I get for letting my guard down. At this rate, I wouldn't be able to fight anymore...

"Ash, can you help me?" I ask.

"What?! But I can't fight by myself!" He responds with shock.

"No, I don't mean fight with me. When I say 'help,' I'm asking for... I don't know, items. Don't you have anything that can heal me?"

"Uh..." He reaches into his backpack for a moment. He pulls something out. "Try eating this Oran Berry. It should help."

I take the berry he gives me and immediately scoff it down. When I swallow it, I could feel my wounds healing for some reason. Maybe the berries in this world had some kind of healing power?

"Hey!" Odhra yelled. "You can't use items in a fight, that's cheating!"

"Who needs rules when you're fighting criminals?" I counter. I decide to go in for one last hit. I throw a Frizz at Nickit, and it goes down. Trying to keep up the momentum, I tell Liana to use Thunderbolt on Stunky. She quickly corrects me by saying it's an "Inky Jolt," but she does it anyway. For some reason, the Inky Jolt not only does some big damage, but it also leaves Stunky with even more ink than it had before.

"Counterattack with Poison Gas!" Nilam shouted. At Nilam's orders, Stunky releases a purple-colored gas.

"What the heck's-" I begin, but I'm quickly interrupted. As soon as I inhale the gas, pain spread throughout my body. This was poison! Not good! If I didn't get treatment soon, I'd end up...! No, I didn't want to think about that. I needed to deal with that STAT!

"David!" Ash yelled, with pure concern in his eyes.

"H-Help me," I stammered. "Give me... an i-item that can... cure this...!"

"Alright then, one Pecha Berry, comin' right up!" He pulls out a peach-like berry out of his backpack. But before he could give it to me, Weavile zooms by and grabs the berry out of Ash's hand! Before I could swing my sword at it, Weavile had already eaten the berry. It didn't heal Weavile, but now I couldn't cure myself! Now I was fighting against the clock. So I told Ash and Liana to focus on Weavile, so that it wouldn't interfere with using items again.

Ash orders Pikachu to use an Electro Web, and it (miraculously) pins Weavile down. I decide not to show any mercy and tell Liana to do the same. I throw a Frizz, and Liana uses Inky Jolt. Although we attacked with all our might, Weavile didn't look so hurt. Even worse, I used up almost all of my magic, and I felt like I could collapse any moment now. I knew this was selfish, but I had no choice.

"Pikachu... Liana," I gasp. "I don't think I can l-last much m-more... I need y-you two to pr-protect Ash and I while you h-hold them off. Can you do that for me...?" To my surprise, both of them agree, and without any doubt, to boot. Ash kneels down and fumbles around in his backpack as he looks for a Pecha Berry. But this time, it oddly took longer than I thought it would. Did he run out? I didn't pay attention to the fight as Ash frantically looks everywhere he can in his pack. Out of the corner of my eye, Weavile tried to stop Ash, but Liana held it off.

Finally, he pulled one out, and I instinctively grabbed it and ate it. I could feel the toxins within my veins dissipating! Yes! Now I could fight again! Although, I hadn't noticed that Liana and Pikachu were badly hurt now. Yet, Stunky and Weavile had also sustained a good amount of damage, too. Why now...? No! We're not gonna lose to these guys! It's not over, not by a long shot!

"Come on, you guys!" I rallied. "We will NOT lose! Not to these guys!" My cheer boosts everyone's morale. "Liana! Inky Jolt! I'll use Frizz!"

"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash commands.

All of our attacks combine into one large mass of power. When it lands, it deals huge damage! Both Stunky and Weavile are knocked down, but they're still conscious. It looks like we'll actually be able to win this...!

"Now! **FINISH IT!**" I shout at the top of my lungs. All of us rush in there and attack with all our might! We attack so hard it kicks up a cloud of dust so large it covers the entire battlefield. Everything after that is a blur. I remember super-loud shouting, the occasional sound of lightning striking, and me slashing at our enemies as hard as I could. We eventually cease, and jump out of the dust cloud. When the dust finally settles, all we see is the epic evidence of victory, a phrase which here means "Stunky and Weavile were KO'd."

"Alright! We won!" I cheer. Everyone else cheers with me as they experience the joy of winning an intense fight. Meanwhile, our foes were stomping the ground in frustration.

"Dang it!" Rohi rages. "How could this be?! We're supposed to win!"

"Not with us around," I said, testily, a word which here means "in an extremely annoyed tone." "Now, who's next?" I grip my sword tightly, but I have no intent to hurt them. I just wanted to intimidate them enough to run away, and sure enough, they did.

"Just what the heck did you do?!" Ash gasped in wonder. "That unison attack was so cool! How did you pull that off?!"

"Uh... I dunno," I say. "It just came naturally to me, or rather, us. But that attack was so powerful, I think it's worthy of a title! What do you think we should call it, kiddo?"

"M-Me?" she asks. "Um, let's see... How about, 'David, Liana, and Pikachu's Ultra-Cool Cooperative All-Out Attack?'"

"Eh... That's a mouthful. How about... Let's just call it 'Co-op de Grâce.' Sound good?"

"Yeah," Ash agrees. "Also, it seems easily teachable. Maybe if we pick up some new Pokemon or companions on the way, we can show them how Co-op de Grâce works!" All of us laugh at Ash's words. It just seemed oddly funny. But then... I quickly remember something.

"Not to put a damper on the party, but aren't we forgetting the Gym?"

Everyone perks up at my words, and after that it's just a mad dash to the Grama Gym.

* * *

The one in which David and friends have a run-in with Terelm's "evil team," Team Noir. And they learn how to use a cool Co-op de Grâce in the process!

Personally, I really want the Grama arc to end already so that the gang can go to the other subregions. Also, I apologize for the lateness- my parents use the only computers we have pretty often.


	10. Max Raiders of the Den

All three of us sigh as we take a break at a nearby cafe. I finish off the last bite of the "Sour Malasada" in order to heal my wounds, similarly how the Berries did.

"Can't believe we got whooped that hard..." I mutter.

"Tell me about it," Ash agrees. "I thought I'd be able to nail it for sure."

If you really want to know what happened, the three of us went to the Grama Gym (Which was the castle I first saw, to my surprise), and Ash challenged the Gym Leader, Shizen, but even after his training, he lost. Liana and I challenged Shizen too, but we lost in a Double Battle (I didn't have two Pokemon, so I threw myself in there). To be honest, I didn't think the Grama Gym would be so hard.

"This blows. How do we even beat Shizen? I know you trained pretty dang hard, Ash, but... geez. Shizen's really tough."

"Well, I've got a backup plan. If Pikachu can't do it by itself, then I'll have to catch another Pokemon."

"Which means..." Liana says, "Going back to the Wild Area. Right?"

Ash nods, and we begin making our way there. Although a little later, I noticed a red beacon of light. Judging from its direction, I'd say it was in the Wild Area.

"Hey, look!" I exclaim. Both Ash and Liana look where I'm pointing. "You guys got any idea what that is? I think it's in the Wild Area."

"I don't think that means anything good," Liana shuddered. "Are you sure it's worth checking out?"

"What if something's threatening the Wild Area?" Ash asks. "We gotta step on it."

I took his advice, and Liana did too, albeit reluctantly. In no time flat, we arrived at the Wild Area, and headed straight for the beacon of light, which I'd say was due northwest. When we finally got there, all we saw was this hole in the ground, and hexagonal stones surrounding it, somehow not falling in. The red light dissipated as we approached it. There were also six other people there. Was this thing really that important?

I noticed that three of them were Hybrimon, and I assumed the other three were trainers. One Hybrimon looked somewhat similar to Liana, except she had two tentacles for hair that hung from the sides of her head and went all the way down to her hips and were colored orange. Another had pink skin, and I quickly pieced together she was something like a rabbit Hybrimon, due to her rabbit-like ears and a round tail. The last one had goat-like horns and also had a tail, although it wasn't round at all, and rather, it was reminiscent to that of a dog's.

After I looked at the Hybrimon, I looked at their trainers. One was wearing a pink headscarf with orange hair, along with a pastel-green dress. Another wore a red cap with purple-tinted sunglasses hanging from his shirt. The last was wearing blue headphones around her neck. All of them were wearing Ultigauntlets. I had to say, this was quite an interesting bunch.

"What's going on?" I ask.

"Oh," the girl with the headscarf notes. "Are you going to join us in this Max Raid Battle, too?"

"Max Raid Battle?" Rotom asks.

"We're going to jump into this den," the capped boy said. "What awaits us is a Dynamaxed Pokemon that we can only fight as a team."

"Dynamaxed?!" Liana exclaims.

"Can you tell me how this 'Max Raid Battle' works?" Ash asked.

"Well," the girl with headphones responds, "Like Robert said, we're going to jump into this den. We're going to fight a Dynamaxed Pokemon, but it'd be really dumb to go fight it alone. Generally speaking, in Max Raid Battles, we form a team of four, but... counting you guys, we'd be a team of five now. Do you wanna join us? We'd be glad to show you the ropes."

Ash was a little hesitant, but I got an idea. "Hey Ash," I whisper. "This could be your chance to catch a Pokemon. Remember? You said you'd need two to fight Shizen."

"Huh? Oh! Great idea!" Ash agrees. "Alright, we're in!"

"Great!" the girl with the headscarf says. "Mind if we introduce ourselves? I'm Allison, and this is my Hybrimon friend, Chloe. You know, the pink one."

"I'm a Fairy type, and I can jump pretty high." Chloe explains.

"I'm Robert," the capped boy pipes up. "That's Aaron," he explains, pointing to the boy with horns. "Out of all of us, he's got the strongest fighting spirit. He's a Fire type."

"When we're in a fight," Aaron says confidently, "You can always count on me. I'm a Fire type."

"Guess I'm last," the girl with headphones sighs. "I'm Lynn. She's my little sister, Susie. She's the one with tentacles."

"Um, hello," Susie whispers shyly. "I hope we get along... I'm a Water type, and I use 'ink bubbles' to attack."

We introduced ourselves in turn, and I emphasized that I had the ability to fight on my own, much to their surprise. Rotom bleeped and blooped as it updated its data on our new Hybrimon friends. After that, we got ready to jump into the den, but Liana stopped us all for some reason.

"Huh? Kid, what's up?" I ask her.

"Not to be rude," she says in concern, "But... once we beat that Dynamaxed Pokemon, considering we even do... how do we get out?"

"Eh," Aaron shrugs. "It's fine. For some reason, whenever a Max Raid Battle's over, the trainers are spontaneously kicked out."

"Oh. Phew, that's good to know."

This time, we jumped into the den for real. As we fell, it was totally pitch-black, reminding me of my first moments here. Later, we finally reached the bottom, and for some reason, it didn't hurt when I landed. As I looked around, I didn't see anything.

"Where's the Pokemon?" I asked.

"It should be in here," Chloe responds.

"Hey, look!" Susie yelled. As we looked, we saw a huge Pokemon! I had no idea what it was supposed to be, as it was totally unrecognizable. It had this kind-of cylyndrical body with five "drops" on its head, and they occasionally bounced up and down. Three red "clouds" circled above it. When I ask Rotom for its data, it says it's a...

"Milcery," Rotom replies. "The cream Pokemon. A Fairy type. This Pokemon was born from sweet-smelling particles in the air. Its body is made of cream. But for some reason, this Milcery is several times larger than a normal one...!"

"Yeah, you're right!" Ash agrees. "Is this really what Dynamaxing does to a Pokemon?"

I didn't have time to respond as Milcery lets out a cry so strong that it creates red energy waves that almost blows all of us away.

"Never mind that, we've gotta fight it!"

Everyone that can fight gets into position, and I make the first strike with my sword. For some reason, I saw red light gather around Ash's Ultigauntlet, but he didn't notice. Ash commands Pikachu to use Thunderbolt, but for some reason, it doesn't do as much damage it normally does. Chloe, Aaron, and Susie all go in for a combo attack, using Quick Attack, Tackle, and Inky Pulse respectively, courtesy of their trainers' orders. I tell Liana to use an Inky Jolt, and Pikachu supports her with a Thunderbolt. But even after we did all that, Milcery didn't even look fazed.

Milcery unleashes a counterattack. The ground cracks underneath Aaron, and a pillar of pure energy quickly rises from the ground, dealing big damage. But it doesn't stop- It casts some sort of spell, and three giant stars fall around me and surround me in an intense light. This pain's nothing like facing any move I've dealt with- Max Moves, as Rotom calls them, were really something!

The light that went into Ash's Ultigauntlet suddenly flowed into mine. For some reason, I could feel power emanating from within it. I looked around, confused, and I caught Allison's gaze, and she nodded. Robert and Lynn caught on, and they nodded, too.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Robert said. "Dynamax! Now!"

"Wait, I can Dynamax?! Well, that'll definitely help! Ready, Liana?"

"H-Huh?!" She gasps. "You want to try to Dynamax me? ...Well, if it'll help, I'm all for it."

"Alright, let's see..." I pull the Ultigauntlet manual out of my bag (Please don't make fun of me for it) and flipped to the Dynamax section. "'In order to Dynamax,'" I read, "'Return your Pokemon to its Poke Ball. Release the Dynamax Energy within your Ultigauntlet, and infuse it with the Poke Ball. Afterwards, throw the Poke Ball behind you to complete the Dynamax.' Alright, sounds simple enough. Liana, return!"

I held Liana's Hybri Ball out, and it released a red light that put her back in. I held her ball out to the side, and red energy appeared from the Ultigauntlet's black panel. When it reached her Hybri Ball, it suddenly grew to approximately the size of a basketball, and I had to hold it with two hands to support it. I turned around. "Alright, kiddo, let's do this! **DYNAMAX!**"

I threw the ball as hard as I could in order to hurl it the furthest distance possible. When the Hybri Ball landed, Liana emerged- but she ended up growing to enormous proportions! When she lands, the ground beneath me shudders, and I almost fall down from the sudden artificial earthquake. She looks at her body in surprise.

"W-Wow," she says in amazement. "I don't think I've ever been Dynamaxed before...! You're really tiny, David! So is everyone else!"

"Well, this should help. Let's try out a Max Move! Use Max Lightning!"

Liana summons a dark cloud, and it sends several bolts of lightning crashing down on Milcery. Although the Max Lightning did huge damage, Milcery's still not done. So I decide to help out. I throw out a Frizz, but it barely does any damage.

"Ugh," I complain. "What should we do?"

"I don't know," Ash replies. "I think all we can do is attack! Use Thunderbolt!" A Thunderbolt hits Milcery, although it still does almost nothing.

"Well, I think I know what I can do," Chloe says. She turns around and... starts whipping her tail around for some reason? Milcery noticeably lets its guard down. Susie unleashes an Inky Pulse, and it does some real damage this time. Aaron follows up with an Ember.

Milcery was getting weak now, but it wasn't going down without a fight. It uses Max Strike on Chloe, and it almost knocks her out. It tries Max Strike again, this time on me, and it's all I can do to hang on. At this rate, I'd end up losing... no, I won't let that happen! We're gonna win this!

"Alright, Liana, finish them off!" I yell in desperation. "Use Max Steelspike!" She promptly punches the ground, causing spikes of steel to quickly emerge from the ground, traveling directly at Milcery. Milcery quickly gets hit, and it does way more damage than it should have! Rotom notes this as a "super-effective hit," due to exploiting Milcery's weakness. After the attack lands, Liana returns to normal size.

Suddenly, Milcery "explodes"- No, I'm not saying it self-destructed. It's more of an artificial, or rather, supernatural kind of explosion that doesn't harm Milcery any further. But Milcery didn't bother trying to counterattack- it looked really weak.

"Now what do we do?" I say.

"Catch it!" Allison exclaims.

"Actually, I'll leave this to you, Ash."

"Can you hand me the manual?" He asks. "I don't think I can use a normal Poke Ball on a Dynamaxed Milcery." I throw the manual at him, and he catches it and flips through it. After looking somewhere in the Dynamax section, he pulls a Poke Ball out and uses Dynamax Energy (Which, I realized, came outta nowhere) to Dynamax the Poke Ball. With a big grin on his face, he throws the ball at Milcery, and it goes inside. When the ball lands, the impact is strong enough to shake the ground slightly, and it even created small spikes of earth around it. The ball shakes as it does its work. Once... twice... then three times...

The ball finally shrinks to normal size as the button on it flashes green. "Yeah!" He exclaims. "I caught a Milcery!" He picks the ball up and puts it back in his pocket. For some reason, there were some items lying where Milcery was a while ago: some candies, berries, and discs. We all share a high-five as we celebrate our victory and split the loot. Although... now we had a whole new problem to deal with.

"...Aaron?" Liana asks. "You told me we'd get out as soon as the battle ended. What's going on?"

"Uh... I dunno," he responds. "It's just not happening for some reason."

At this moment, everyone was looking at me. "What?" I say. "Do you want me to, like, find us a way out? I may have the ability to fight, but flying?" I pointed at the hole above us, which was our only known exit, albeit unreachable. "That's a whole new thing, geez!"

"Yeah," Lynn says. "Sorry about that. I guess we expected too much. We should look for a way out."

But I didn't like that. Finding a way out of here might take forever. Well, not literally, but you get what I'm saying. Suddenly I had an idea.

"Hold on, let me try this," I say. I gather everyone together, then I raise my hand high. A blue light fills the area.

"ZOOM!"

* * *

The one in which David makes some new friends, and experiences his first Max Raid Battle after getting whooped by Shizen. (And he learns Zoom. Yay.)

I wish I had some sort of build-up to the other crew members, but unfortunately, I kept having brain farts and I had to go the lame way.


	11. Third Time's the Charm

Everyone else is frozen stock-still with shock as we stand at the entrance to the Wild Area.

"D-David..." Ash stutters. "What did... you just do?"

"I think I used some sort of teleportation spell," I respond. "It's called Zoom. I guess it lets me go wherever I've been before. Along with anyone else near me, too..."

"This is very peculiar," Rotom states. "A person with magic powers definitely isn't natural... This could be one of the greatest discoveries of all time!"

"Hey, Rotom, I'm not gonna be some sorta test subject, okay? So forget it."

"I was just saying that you're something else."

"With you, it's just one surprise after another, huh?" Robert asks. "First you tell us you can fight, and then you teleport us to the Wild Area's entrance."

"But that's so cool!" Lynn exclaims. "You're just like someone out of a manga!"

"Whats... manga?" I ask.

"...A fancy term for a comic book." She was (somehow) a little disappointed that I didn't know what "manga" was.

"So, what do we do next?" Allison asks.

"Um... let's see. Oh, that's right! Why don't we go back to the Grama Gym and challenge Shizen again, Ash?"

"Oh yeah!" he yells. "This time I'm gonna nail it for sure! Mind if you use Zoom to get us there?"

"Pikachu," Pikachu agrees.

"Hold on a moment, Ash." Liana says. "Gotta talk to David here for a bit." She takes my hand and starts walking away, to my surprise. But she doesn't seem mad.

"D-Do you want to talk about something, kid?" I ask, still a little surprised.

"Yeah. I know I asked you to catch me, because I trusted you, but... I have other reasons, too."

"What... kinds of reasons?"

"...Truth be told, I'm on a journey myself," she admits. "I'm looking for my big brother."

"Big brother?" I ask.

"Yeah. We've been separated for... what, three months now? In any case, I've been looking for him all over Terelm. But so far, I haven't gotten even a trace of his whereabouts."

"Why're you telling me about this? Not that there's anything wrong with it, though."

"I'm telling you about this because I'm hoping you'll be the one. I've had a few trainers before, but even after I spent time with them, I was no closer than I was to finding him. But you? You're different. You've got the power to fight on your own... and I really respect that."

That was something else. I don't know why, but being respected felt really nice. It signaled to me that she really trusted me. And I wasn't about to break that trust. I kneeled down and put my hands on her shoulders.

"...I get it. You want me to help you reunite with your bro, huh? You can count on me, kiddo. I won't let you down. I swear on it." She looks at me, and smiles in gratitude. I knew that I couldn't lie to her. I made a promise, and I intended to keep it. Picking her up in my arms, I returned to Ash and the others. "Sorry about the wait," I say. "Let's go."

Raising one of my hands up high, I shout "Zoom!" as we fly towards Grama Gym. We enter, and we check in for another rematch. Although Allison and the others hung back.

"What's up?" Liana asks.

"We've actually beaten the Grama Gym before," Allison says. "All of us." The three of them pull something out of their bags and pull out a black rectangular container with a glass lid. In each of their cases, one of the four slots were taken up by a badge.

"So, we're going to watch and cheer you guys on," Lynn states.

"Well, that's fine," Ash responds. The rest of them nod, and they enter the arena before us. Ash turns to face me. "David, Liana. Are you guys ready?"

I nodded, and so did Liana. Taking her hand, the three of us reenter the arena. Shizen stood at his side of the arena. Looking around, I spotted some bleachers, and I saw Allison and her group. They saw us immediately, and they smiled and waved. Smiling, I also waved back.

"So you're back, trainers," Shizen says. "Back again so soon?"

"Yep," Ash responds. "And we're gonna win this time!"

"Hah, don't be so cocky. You look tougher than before, but we'll see if it'll be enough. As for you-" He pointed at me. "You don't look like you changed so much, but then again, I guess I shouldn't underestimate any opponent. Well, Ash, you're first. Step up! Let's do this!"

Ash climbs a small set of stairs, and he takes his position at his side of the battlefield. "Alright, Pikachu! I choose you!" Pikachu jumps off of Ash's shoulder and lands on the battlefield.

"Come out!" Shizen yells as he throws a Poke Ball. A Pokemon emerges, and Rotom reads its entry.

"Nuzleaf: the wily Pokemon. A Grass and Dark type. Nuzleaf can be found living in thick woodlands. The soft melodies they play on their leaf pipes are said to comfort humans."

"I see you're going with Nuzleaf again," Ash notes. "I'll make the first move, then! Use Quick Attack!" Pikachu rushes at full speed and rams Nuzleaf with its full body.

"Nuzleaf!" Shizen shouts. "Use Razor Leaf!" Nuzleaf spawns leaves as if it was magic, and it sends them at Pikachu. But Pikachu dodges it while still using Quick Attack.

"Now, use Iron Tail!" Rebounding off of the ground, Pikachu slams his tail into Nuzleaf. Nuzleaf tries to grab Pikachu, but the tail still hits. Nuzleaf doesn't loosen its grip, though.

"We've got you cornered! Throw it and use Air Cutter!" Nuzleaf throws Pikachu in the air as high as it can and jumps after it to deliver its blow. A direct hit! But Pikachu doesn't give up. By Ash's orders, Pikachu tries to pin Nuzleaf down with Electro Web, and it works! It follows up with a Thunderbolt, and Nuzleaf is helpless. Despite it being resistant to electricity, it does some good damage anyway.

"Break free and attack with Razor Leaf!" The leaves cut through the electric web, and a few leaves survive and manage to hit Pikachu. "Now, follow up with Tackle!" Pikachu's still too stunned to move as Nuzleaf lands its follow-up attack. Pikachu can still fight, but it looked like it was halfway there to fainting.

"Pikachu, return!" Ash yells. Pikachu obediently retreats as Ash pulls out his other Poke Ball. "Now, Milcery! I choose you!" He throws it as hard as he can, and Milcery emerges. Shizen is somewhat pleased to face a different challenge. "Use Tackle! Go!"

"You too, Nuzleaf! Cancel it out with your Tackle, too!"

Both contestants clash as they ram each other with their Tackles. I half expected the attacks to do nothing as they were the exact same, but it does damage to both fighters. I'm on the edge of my seat as Ash keeps battling valiantly. Milcery takes another hit as Nuzleaf fires another Razor Leaf. Milcery goes in for another Tackle, but it's stopped by Nuzleaf's Air Cutter.

"I don't think we should use the same attack over and over. Use Draining Kiss!"

Milcery charges in again, and Nuzleaf rams it with another Tackle. But Milcery stays attached, and it... kisses Nuzleaf? For some reason, when it does, it does damage to Nuzleaf and heals Milcery at the same time.

"Finish it off! Tackle, one more time!"

Milcery detaches itself from Nuzleaf, and it goes in yet again, but Nuzleaf is too tired to dodge. It takes the brunt of the blow, and it faints.

"Oof," Shizen flinches. "You're not joking around anymore, huh? Well, so am I!" He pulls out a Poke Ball and... wait, he's got an Ultigauntlet?! Shoot! That's not good! How did I not notice that?

"Alright, then!" Shizen rallies to nobody in particular. "It's Dynamax time! Prepare to get demolished!" Dynamax Energy flows into the Poke Ball, and he throws it behind him vigorously. A Pokemon emerges, and it grows huge as it Dynamaxes. Rotom reads its entry:

"Phantump," it recites. "The stump Pokemon. A Ghost and Grass type. Phantump come from rotting tree stumps that have been possessed by spirits. Lonely forests are their preferred habitat."

"A Dynamax, huh?" Ash says cockily. "That makes it even more exciting! But we won't back down! Milcery, Draining Kiss! Again!"

"Don't let it drain your energy! Use Max Strike!"

Phantump tries to use Max Strike, but Ash calls Milcery out to dodge, and it succeeds. Milcery latches itself onto Phantump's body and kisses it in order to drain its energy. But due to the Dynamax powering up Phantump drastically, it barely does anything, let alone heal.

"Alright! Now use Max Overgrowth!"

Phantump fires three seeds, which land around Milcery and grow into huge mushrooms. It causes a "green explosion" that severely damages Milcery. It looks pretty weak.

"I don't know if Milcery can do this... Return!" Ash brings Milcery's Poke Ball out and returns it. He turns to Pikachu. "Time for the big guns! Ready, Pikachu?"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu yells in excitement. Ash gives his hat to Pikachu, and it puts the hat on. Ash releases a light from his Z-Crystal. Was this a Z-Move? He does a fist bump and high-fives Pikachu (Except Pikachu uses its tail for the high-five), and he strikes a cool pose. When he does, a light pours out from the Z-Crystal and flows into Pikachu.

"Much stronger than a Thunderbolt... Yeah! This is much, much bigger! Pikachu! Use 10,000,000-Volt Thunderbolt! **NOW!**"

Pikachu jumps into the air, and it summons several dark clouds that give it electrical energy. After charging up for a while, it releases not one, not two, but SEVEN Thunderbolts, each colored differently, as if it were a rainbow of Thunderbolts. The Z-Move does massive damage to Phantump.

But Phantump's still standing! The Z-Move did a lot, true, but because Phantump's been Dynamaxed, it took less damage.

"No way!" Ash and I yell in bewilderment.

"You're not half bad, Ash," Shizen compliments him. "You're strong to have made it this far. But it looks like our game ends here. Use Max Overgrowth!"

Talk about a huge punish. Using the Z-Move had left Pikachu stunned from using a huge amount of power. And now it was wide open. It didn't have the energy to move as the Max Move did its work...! But miraculously, Pikachu survives!

"You alright, buddy?"

"Pi... ka..." It doesn't have to say anything more. It's on the verge of fainting. If it tried to fight any longer, it would go down.

"Okay. Return!" Pikachu slowly walks back to Ash, and it gives his hat back. He sends Milcery out one more time. "Okay, Milcery! Come out!" He sends Milcery out again. It was clear to me he was getting desperate. Or was he? "Use Draining Kiss!"

Milcery charges and latches itself onto Phantump again, and drains its energy.

"Counterattack with Max Strike!" The ground cracks beneath Milcery, and it deals damage that undoubtedly made its Draining Kiss useless. The only thing I could think of was that Ash was stalling... but for what? It quickly becomes, clear, though: As soon as the Max Move ends, Phantump returns to normal size. And I thought Ash was being desperate...! Now that Phantump wasn't Dynamaxed anymore, Ash had his chance.

"This is our chance! Go, Milcery! Use Tackle!"

"Don't let him win! Use Branch Poke!"

Both of them charge. Milcery's Tackle lands first, but Phantump rebounds and uses one of its branches growing from its head to attack. Afterward, they both perform the same moves twice in a row. Both looked really tired right now, as if one more attack alone could do the trick.

"Alright," he says, "Prepare to taste a team attack which you've never seen before! Milcery! Pikachu! Co-op de Grâce! NOW!"

Pikachu charges in, even though it's not really supposed to battle. Milcery quickly follows its lead, despite it never doing Co-op de Grâce before. Phantump disappears in a cloud of smoke, and when the duo ceases, Phantump's just lying there. Was that breaking the rules? Well, that doesn't matter, since Phantump was going to faint anyway. All of us cheer for Ash's victory as Shizen returns the fainted Phantump to its Poke Ball. The two trainers approach each other.

"You finally did it," Shizen sighs. "On your third attempt, huh? I guess it's true when they say 'Third time's the charm.' Well, you beat me. So, here you go. Take your Nature Badge!"

"Thank you," Ash says. "Let's have a battle again sometime, yeah?"

The two shake hands in sportsmanship, and Ash walks away with his new Nature Badge and put it in his badge case.

"As for you, David, I'm sorry, but I can't let you battle. My Pokemon are fainted right now, so maybe by tomorrow I'll have them healed up and you can battle me again."

"Oh," I say in disappointment. But I quickly understood- How could Shizen battle if his Pokemon were fainted? "Well, never mind. That's fine. I can wait until tomorrow. I'll just train until then!"

Me and the crew walk out of the gym, high-fiving Ash and slapping him on the back in congratulations. But I didn't pay attention to that. I looked at Liana, and she looked at me, squeezing my hand with a determined look in her eyes. We knew what we had to do.

* * *

The one in which Ash wins his Nature Badge from Shizen, and Liana shares a bit of her past.

I'm sorry if the Gym Battle was kind of uninteresting, but it was all I could do to make the story progress.


	12. Lost, Now Found

"So, why are we doing this again?" Susie asked. Me and the crew have arrived at the Wild Area at my suggestion. It was a good thing it was still afternoon- if we searched at sunset, or maybe even night, this would have been more difficult.

"Ugh," Liana complained. "I've told you a million times already. We're looking for my brother, right?"

"Oh, yeah. Right."

"So, if we're doing this, how do we find him?" I ask.

"Well, I don't think he'll be out in the open," Liana muses. "If I put myself in his shoes, he'd hide himself until he found me. So, I think we should look there." She pointed at an entrance to a nearby forest.

"You sure about this, Liana?" Ash asks. "We might get lost."

"It's fine. I've gone in that forest several times, so I've got most of the forest memorized."

"Well, that's good to know. Should we go?"

"We're ready when you are, kid," I say.

"I just hope I'll pull it off this time," she sighs. "But even if I don't get it, we'll try again some other time." She squeezes my hand, and we step foot into the forest. For some reason, I had this foreboding feeling of danger.

"Where in this forest do you think he might be?" Allison asks.

"I think he'd be someplace where he could rest. Not as in sleep, but recover. One thing you should know is that he's a Hybrimon like me."

"Your brother's a Hybrimon?" Chloe repeats.

"Uh-huh. And his abilities quickly tire him out because he hasn't gotten used to them yet."

"So... can you think of a place you've been to that someone can rest at?" Lynn queries.

"Uh, let's see here... No, I don't think so. I think we need to search the area, quick."

"Wait," Robert interjects. "If we tear the place apart without thinking, we might end up getting lost."

"I think we need more pointers," Rotom adds. "For starters, what does your brother look like?"

"What he looks like?" Liana repeats. "He's got a striped shirt like me, although it's colored differently. He's also got tentacles for hair, like me and Susie. He's got it in a slick-back style, and... Oh yeah, can't forget the wings, either." Rotom bleeps as it updates its data.

"Alright," Aaron says. "Now that we know our target, let's get cracking. I think we should split up and cover more ground that way. If we get lost, we should try to go back to the entrance of this forest as a rallying point."

All of us nod in agreement, and we take off in different directions. I ended up going in a direction that made me cut some grass using my sword to clear a path, then a river which I had to swim across, and finally, a cave. I didn't like that I was going in alone, because that meant if I ended up coming across some Pokemon, I'd end up having to fight all on my own. But I had to brave this. So, heart pounding, I stepped inside. Naturally, it got dark, so I cast Frizz to set my sword on fire to use it as a torch.

I don't know how long I walked, but I walked for a long time, and for some reason, there were no forks in the road, which was a small mercy. But I kept my guard up, supposing a Pokemon would jump out of the dark and attack. I kept thinking about getting ambushed when I heard an echo throughout the cave that sent chills up my spine. There was nothing there when I turned around. But when I turned again... I saw something swoop down, and it hit me! I fall to the floor. After I get up, I find out that a bat-like Pokemon attacked me: It was medium-sized, and it had a blue body with purple wings. It didn't seem to have any eyes, like a normal bat would.

"Rotom," I say. "Can you read its entry?" But then I realize Rotom's not here. This was somewhat of an inconvenience; not having info on this foe was pretty worrying. But I shook that thought off, and I ran in to attack. I hadn't noticed that I was attacking with my still-flaming sword, which caused me to use something like a "Flame Slash" to deal more damage. But the flame went out as soon as the sword hit, making darkness fall again. I looked around anxiously as I looked for my opponent.

I suddenly felt an attack coming, and I set my sword on fire again. The light revealed that the Pokemon was draining my energy, and it dodged and ceased before I could attack. I made a mental note to quickly reignite my sword if I accidentally used Flame Slash again, so I used Frizz to attack, then followed up with another Flame Slash. I quickly ignited the sword before darkness fell.

The Pokemon swooped away from me, and it released a sound wave from its mouth so intense that I had to cover my ears in order to stop myself from getting hurt. But it was useless- it swooped down and hit me again. One more attack should do it... I run in there and hit it with a flaming sword once more to knock it out. Phew! That was uncalled for. If one good thing came out of that battle, it was that I learned a new ability to use in battle. Too bad it drained at my magic energy.

After walking for a long time, I finally reached an exit. Phew, that was a good thing. I didn't have to worry about fighting anymore. Now I found myself in a peaceful area- there was a small river flowing around, and there were a few trees here and there. But what caught my attention was that there was someone there, sitting on a large, flat rock. A striped shirt, and slick-back tentacles... he fit the bill perfectly, save for the wings. He was just staring into space. Only when I stepped forward did he notice my presence and get up.

"What do you want?" He asks. "Another Team Noir grunt I have to deal with, huh?"

"W-Wait," I stutter. "I'm not a Noir grunt."

"Tch. You can lie all you want. It's thanks to you that I've lost her."

I was about to ask who he meant by "her" when he suddenly took off with extreme speed and landed two kicks a row on my leg, tripping me. I quickly roll away before he can land another hit.

"You want a fight, huh? Alright, then! I'll give you one!" I unsheathe my sword and charge in. But he dodges quickly by jumping in the air. Shoot, he's fast! I gotta slow him down somehow. When he lands, he charges in as if he were using Tackle, but I dodge it quickly and attack to punish his whiff. He flinches, but he recovers quickly and gets going again. I chase after him. I didn't want to fight him, but I had no choice.

He turns around and skids to a halt. He makes a finger gun, and... Aha! I've seen Liana do that a few times, and now he's going to use the same attack! Now I know what he's going to do, I've got him on the ropes. He shoots himself, and he fires the Ink Shower. I dodge to the side and throw a Frizz at him to deal damage. But I'm starting to run out of magic. I've got to choose my moves wisely.

"You're not half bad," he gasps. "But don't think for a moment you'll win!"

He spreads his arms wide, and, to my surprise, he summons a pair of wings purely made of ink! So he really was who I was looking for! He charges in and attacks with his wings while my guard's still down. The wings, being made of ink, causes ink to splatter everywhere, and it decreases my defense a little. I can't afford any more hits. I need to end this already! I set my sword on fire, and charge as fast as I can.

But my Flame Slash misses as he flies up to dodge. He flies behind me, and he does a nose-dive to hit me in the back with his full body. This isn't good... one more would knock me out. If only I had some healing items... I look around frantically, hoping to find a berry or two. But there's nothing around me. He tries to attack again, but I see it coming and counterattack. Then I see it. An Oran Berry bush, just behind him. If I could get to it, I could eat the two berries over there to heal myself...

"Come on!" I yell. "Outta my way!"

I spend the last of my magic to cast one more Frizz. To my delight, it hits and blows him away. I rush at my chance, grab the berries from the bush, and narf them down. My wounds started to heal. Good! Now this fight was mine! ...Or, so I thought. He looked really weak now, and I couldn't help but feel bad for him. I didn't even want to fight him in the first place. What could I do in order to convince him to stop fighting? I dodge another Ink Shower as I think of something.

I dropped my sword, and reached into my pocket to pull Liana's Hybri Ball out. "If you're really her brother, surely you must know this, right?"

"Hey... that's her..."

"Yeah. It's your sister's Hybri Ball."

He falls silent for a bit. "I see," he finally says. "I guess I shouldn't have misjudged you." He withdraws his wings, and I pick up my sword to put it back in its sheath. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I don't blame you for going on edge because you've lost Liana."

"Why are you here, anyway?"

"You'll see later on. But that fight left you pretty hurt..." I looked around, and I saw a few more Oran Berries. I gave them to him so he could heal himself. "Alright," I finally say. "Let's go."

The two of us marched through the cave, past the river, and through the tall grass. We arrived at the rallying point. But there was nobody there. "That's weird," I mumble. "Nothing's here. Where are the guys?"

"Who?" He asks.

"My friends and I were supposed to meet here, including Liana. But they're nowhere to be found. I wonder where they are now?"

"Prepare for trouble, they're certainly quite close." A voice repeats.

"And make it double, it's as if they were under your nose!" Another voice speaks. Both of us turn around. Oh, come on! Not these guys again!

"To protect the world from devastation..."

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love..."

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"And James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare for a separated fight!"

"Meow, that's right!"

I noticed that their little sequence was a little different than from the one where I first encountered them, but I brushed that off as trivial. "Team Rocket!" I yell. "What're you doin' here?!"

"Team Rocket?" the unknown Hybrimon asks.

"Bad guys who steal Pokemon," I explain.

"What're we doin' here?" Meowth repeats. "We're here to haggle with you."

"Haggle with me?" I repeat, a little confused. Jessie and James run off, and I hear grunting as if they were pushing something. Eventually, something comes within view- a cage. But what surprised me was what was IN the cage.

"Liana!" The Hybrimon yells.

"Ash! Everyone else, too!" I add.

"When we say 'haggle,'" Jessie explains, "We say that we want you to give us that Hybrimon there."

"Otherwise," James says, "You'll wish you had. Meowth?" Meowth steps in front of the cage, and it lets out its claws. It didn't need to say anything- it had sent a very clear message.

"Cowards!" I yell. "You'll just try anything! But no matter what you do, I'll never voluntarily hand over a single Pokemon or Hybrimon to you! FRIZZ!" But the spell fizzles out. D'oh! That's right! I ended up using every last ounce of my magic! What can I do?! The villains cackle at my helplessness.

"Nice try," Jessie mocks me. "But it seems your twerpish magic has run out. Alright, then. Meowth, do your stuff!"

"Never!" I quickly tap the Hybrimon's back to address him. "Use Ink Shower!" He fires several ink bullets, and it stops Meowth from attacking my friends. Team Rocket turns to me in frustration.

"Twerps to the end!" James yells.

"Well," Jessie smiles. "I never thought we'd get to use these Pokemon again. Come out!" Two Pokemon emerge. One is totally unrecognizable, but somewhat reminded me of a pumpkin, and the other looked like a Pikachu, but different.

"You too!" James calls. Another pair of Pokemon appears. One looked like a squid, and another, which was also unrecognizable. But the latter surprised me when it turned to James and glomped onto its head as he struggled to get it off. When he finally does, I'm shocked to see that his skin had turned purple. Rotom, who is still inside the cage, informs me that my opponents are a Gourgeist, a Mimikyu, an Inkay, and a Mareanie. Oof... four against two doesn't look so good, with even one fighter only able to use basic attacks, to boot. But I have no choice! I'll fight to the end!

"Alright! Use Ink Shower on all of 'em!" He fires all the ink bullets he can to hit all four targets. Nice! Now I just had to get them out of the way. They had the high ground, but that didn't faze me. I jump as high as I can and attempt to slash at Gourgeist to get it out of the way. But it dodges, and it shoots a Seed Bomb to send me back. I quickly break my fall to minimize vulnerability. They weren't joking this time! If I had my magic, then I could fight better. But I needed to buy myself some time first.

"Hold them off for a bit. I need to find something to use." He nods in agreement, and charges. I look around for an item that could (hopefully) restore my magic. I see a few berries, but I knew those berries, and I knew they only healed, not restored magical power. Oran Berries, Sitrus Berries, Pecha Berries lay around me. They were of no use to me right now, but I picked them up to use them in a pinch. I could hear Team Rocket landing a few hits, and the Hybrimon fought back, too. I had to hurry up! I expanded my search area, and I end up finding a red berry. I had no idea what it did, but I ate it anyway.

I was glad I did. When I swallow it, I could feel magical power coursing through me again! Yeah! But as I returned to the battlefield, I quickly realized if I used four Frizzes in a row, I'd end up draining myself drastically. What could I do? Ugh, forget it! Don't worry about magic, just give 'em what for!

"Just get outta here!" I yell. "Frizz!" But it doesn't go the way I expect it to. When I thrust my hand forward, instead of four fireballs flying from my palm, a whole wave of fire erupts from under our foes and damages them all at once! Was this an enhanced version of Frizz? What do you call this, uh... Sizz? Yeah, let's go with that. One thing, I noticed, was that it didn't take up as much magic as I anticipated it to, maybe it required as much magic as two Frizzes.

"This is your chance! Knock 'em off their vantage point with a full-speed Tackle!" The Hybrimon summons his wings, and he flies up to get into position. Boosting himself off of a tree, he quickly knocks Team Rocket off of the small cliff. I quickly scurry up the cliff wall in order to reach the cage.

"David!" Liana screams. "Help us!"

"Don't worry, kid. I'll get you guys outta there!" I swing my sword at the cage, but it bounces off the steel cage and lands behind me. I hurriedly run over and pull the blade out of the ground. "This thing's tough. A normal attack won't cut it..." But while I'm thinking of something, I get hit by Mimikyu's Shadow Ball. The Hybrimon fights back with another Ink Shower. Thanks, but I gotta move fast! Without thinking, I give the cage a two-handed swing, and... the "Metal Slash" cuts the cage open?! How?! Not that I'm complaining, though. That's three new moves learned in one day...! The gap in the cage is large enough to let everyone out.

"Oh, no!" Jessie shrieks.

"All our hard work, wasted!" James screams.

I ignored them. "You guys alright?" I ask. "Are you hurt?"

"Nah, we're fine," Ash responds. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Liana opening her mouth, in front of her brother, as if she wanted to say something, but she couldn't find words.

"Don't worry about it," he says, winking. "Fighting comes first. Save the reunion for later, okay?"

"Y-Yeah!" she responds. "You're right. Let's give them some payback!" Liana gets on her brother's back, who quickly takes flight, taking Liana with her. Liana fires an Ink Shower to attack all of them, and the other Hybrimon finishes it off with a full-force Tackle.

"We're blasting off again!" Team Rocket yells as they get blown away.

"Phew," I sigh. "Glad that's that." We slide down the cliff wall and land unharmed. Once we reach Liana and the other Hybrimon, they stand in silence for a while before they finally hug each other, long and hard.

"I finally found you!" he happily says.

"Well, it took you long enough!" Liana jokes. The two of them pull away, and they look at us.

"Thank you so much. I never would have found my lil' sis if I never met you, uh..."

"David," I finish for him.

"Oh, okay. David, thanks. Liana, is it true he's your trainer?"

"Uh-huh," she agrees. "Oh, yeah! I never introduced him to you, huh? I'm sure you've figured this out, but he's my big bro, Wesley."

I don't know why, but I suddenly felt sad. "So, what're you gonna do now?" I ask. "Liana, you said you joined me just to find Wesley. Are you gonna...?"

"...Leave you? Oh... uh, one sec." She and Wesley move closer to whisper to each other. I don't know what they're saying, but I do know it's about our partnership. Finally, Wesley smiled. He approached me.

"Lil' sis here says she doesn't want to go," Wesley says. "But she doesn't want me to go, either. So I've decided- I'll let you catch me."

"Wait, what?! For real?!" All of us ask in surprise.

"After all, she's been looking for me all this time. And she doesn't want to leave me again. But if she didn't want to leave you either, I'd have no choice, otherwise our search would be for nothing, right?"

"Oh... well, then, alright! Can you give me your Hybri Ball?" I ask.

Wesley reaches into his pocket, and he pulls out his Hybri Ball. Although it looks different from Liana's. Liana's had a replica of her hair ribbon on her ball, but Wesley's Hybri Ball was completely red with drawn-on wings on it. I guess all Hybri Balls are designed differently depending on who carries them. I take it from him, and I move backward a bit. I wind up, and I throw the Hybri Ball. He goes inside, and the Hybri Ball shakes once... twice... then three times... Until the button on it flashes green.

"Alright!" I yell in celebration. "My second catch!"

"Congrats," Ash praises me.

"Truth be told," Liana says, "I thought I'd never see him again. But you helped me. So, thank you!"

"I promised you I'd find him for you. And I did. Alright, Wesley! Come out!" I hurl the ball as high as I can to send him out. He and Liana high-five each other in celebration. I get their attention by kneeling down to them. "Liana, I've fulfilled my promise to you. And I'll promise something to the two of you: Even if you get separated again, I'll help you find each other once more."

* * *

The one in which Liana and her big brother reunite! And David gets his second catch!

Also, this is the longest chapter I've ever written. 3,636 words!


	13. Mission Accomplished

I awaken to the sound of the doorbell ringing. What was it this time? Did we have another delivery or something? Maybe it was the others. They said we'd meet up at the Wild Area, but... were we late, and were they gonna pick us up or something? ...Actually, no. I realized it was something like eight o' clock, and we were supposed to meet up at nine. So who was that at the door?

I decided to answer that question myself. I march over to the front door, and to my surprise, it was Professor Camphor.

"Sorry," she apologizes. "Did I wake you up?"

"Yeah..." I sigh. "It's fine, though. I'm used to it."

"Sorry I had to leave you so suddenly. I had to go on some sort of business trip."

"Aren't you a leading authority on Pokemon research or something?"

"Close answer. More like a leading authority on..." She pauses for a moment.

"Camphor? Something wrong?"

"No, it's alright. Who're they?" She pointed at Liana and Wesley, who were both now standing behind me.

"Oh, yeah. I haven't introduced you to them yet. They're Liana and Wesley, my Hybrimon."

"Hybrimon, eh? You could've told me you had some company," she chuckles. "But as I was saying, I'm a leading authority on Hybrimon research, and I'm looking into the phenomenon of people spontaneously turning into Hybrimon."

"That sounds pretty interesting."

"It is interesting. Why don't you tell me what you've been doing while we were away?"

"I can tell you," Ash suddenly says. I jump up in surprise.

"Woah! Dude, how long have you been standing there?!" I ask.

"For a while. I've heard everything Professor Camphor told you."

"Pika!" Pikachu agrees. Me and the others sat down, and we recap everything that's happened since her return, most notably how I met and caught Liana and Wesley, my awakening to my powers, how Ash caught a Milcery in a Max Raid Battle and got his Nature Badge, and our run-ins with Teams Rocket and Noir.

"There's something that's been bugging me," Camphor mused. "It's mostly about you, David. Why do you have the ability to battle by yourself?"

There was that cursed question again. Why? I just couldn't find an answer. "I don't know," I reply. "It's kind of like a question that has no answer. I don't know why I got these abilities. Although it may have something to do with me falling right out of the sky on my first day in Grama." I tried to shove the subject of me being from another world out of my explanation.

"It's supernatural, that's for sure. To be honest with you, when I was on my trip, the first thing me and my subordinates had to talk about was this sudden surge of power spreading throughout the entirety of Terelm. I think it had something to do with you."

"Sudden surge of power?" I ask. That sounded like if I already had any magic powers before I came here, I quickly lost them because of some unknown force. It also stirred something within me. It felt like I was about to remember something... but what? I knew a memory was coming back, but it just wasn't there yet. I decide to work on it later.

"Well, we should get going," Wesley says. "We're meeting up with the guys soon. Ready to go, guys?"

All of us nod, and we say goodbye to Camphor as we depart for the Wild Area. No, we weren't going to catch any new Pokemon- we were just going to hang out together. To tell the truth, Ash and the others were just about ready to leave Grama, but I stopped them. I told them I wanted to take a look around Grama one last time- after all, I hadn't really had the time to explore, and I didn't even have my Nature Badge yet.

The other day, I picked up this brochure on Terelm that some poor guy happened to drop, and I showed it to Liana and Wesley. Apparently, Terelm is a man-made region, unlike the other regions in this world. It was divided into four subregions, and a town was located in each of them. All of the subregions had a backstory that pertained to something called the Terelmian War- a war that lasted ten years, and was the worst war Terelm had experienced.

First, there was, of course, the Grama subregion, the one I was currently in. Grama Town was in the middle of a gigantic grassy plain with a few forests here and there. It's famous for being the most popular shopping bazaar in all of Terelm, which me and the crew were planning to go to. It looked so medieval not just because it was built that way, but since Terelm's construction, it was the only kingdom that survived the Terelmian War. Nowadays, it's not treated like a kingdom anymore, and rather, well, a town with a castle-gym in it.

Second, there was the Floji subregion, which we were planning to go to next. Floji Town is located in the middle of a savanna, and it's the only notable sign of civilization there. Once a month, it holds a "Pokemon Fest" where trainers rent Pokemon pertaining to two, sometimes four sides and fight for victory. It was apparently a tradition created after the Terelmian War finally subsided. Other than that, it's a pretty popular spot for inventors due to Floji Town revolving around machines.

Third, there was the Sluo subregion. Apparently Sluo Town was located at the top of a mountain with a waterfall running down it. According to the brochure, it was just high enough for the citizens' preference: Not too high, but not too low, either. It was used as a refuge for those who were drafted into the Terelmian War but escaped. The refugees built a town there that was eventually discovered, but the war had already ended by then, so Sluo Town was in no danger. As of right now, it's the number one hangout spot in all of Terelm.

Finally, there was the Bloc subregion. Just like Sluo, it was located at the top of a mountain, but with no waterfalls. Apparently it was the spot where the commanders of the factions affiliated in the Terelmian War signed the treaty that put the war to a close. The League was located here. However, despite the League's presence, there's also a Gym. Although, I couldn't find any purpose Bloc Town served other than housing the League.

Phew... To think my adventure would soon begin... And with new friends, to boot. I never thought I'd go from my world to this one, one that I thought never existed... And really, was there any point in me going back? I thought not. This whole world was filled to the brim with Pokemon, and maybe stuff I don't know about this world yet. I bet my world was totally free of all this, and it was just a boring old world that nobody would be interested in.

I was still thinking about this even when we reached the Wild Area, and even when we reached the Grama Bazaar. But when we finally got there, I decided to shake those thoughts off and enjoy myself. After all, this is a world where I can enjoy its surprises. And I couldn't do that when I was thinking about that, right?

"You know," Allison says, "This is my favorite spot in all of Grama. Not only do they have useful stuff, they've also got it exactly when you need it."

"Oh, really?" I ask. "Maybe I could get my hands on some crafting materials..."

"Crafting materials?" Rotom asks. "Why?"

"Eh... no real reason. I just thought that I might be able to throw together some items that could help us."

"Like what?"

"Hmm..." I hummed in reply. I hadn't noticed, but I was thinking harder than usual. "A wooden shield, maybe? That'd require wood, obviously, and maybe some glue or tape for sticking the handle to the shield."

"That's not too bad," Ash compliments me. "In fact, you remind me of Clemont."

"Who?"

"Clemont. He's one of my friends. I traveled with him in the Kalos region, and he's an inventor. Maybe you two have the same creative spirit."

"Huh. Well, that's pretty cool. Although, I guess I'd be more of a craftsman than an inventor..."

"Why don't we go ahead and get shopping?" Chloe asks. We all agree, and we split up to do our own thing. Smiling, I took Liana's hand as Wesley climbed up to sit on my shoulders.

"Is there anything you want me to buy?" I ask both Liana and Wesley.

"Umm... some berries?" Liana requests. "I'm kind of hungry."

"A phone?" Wesley asks. But he quickly starts laughing. "Just kidding. I know you wouldn't afford that! In all honesty, I don't really want anything."

"Don't try to trick me like that," I laugh. "I thought for real you wanted me to buy you a phone- and one I couldn't afford, at that. Well, since Liana wants some berries, I think I've got some in my bag here." I reach into my pack, and I fumble around for a bit. I give Liana a few Oran Berries. She doesn't eat all of them right away, though- she drops most of them into her pocket and eats the rest.

"Thanks," she smiles. "I wasn't that hungry, though. You didn't have to give me that much," she giggles.

"Oh. Well, that's fine, I guess. Alright, I think I'll go and get those materials ready."

I walk throughout the bazaar, passing several stands, most of which are filled with berries, Poke Balls, and even some spray-like items, which I used a free sample of, but had no effect on myself or my Hybrimon. I finally reach a stand selling blocks of wood, run by little kids, to my surprise. And I was still surprised when I realized they sold not just little blocks, but big ones. I paid for three; just in case my first attempt failed. I couldn't be too careful. But on my way back, I saw someone who looked... oddly familiar.

Wait, was that Shizen? He looked kind of troubled. I ran after him, hoping I'd catch up. It didn't take too long, within moments he was in reach. I reached out to tap him on the back. He jumped as soon as I touched him.

"Woah!" He yelped. "Don't sneak up on me like that! ...Wait, David? Oh, phew. Just the guy I was looking for."

"Huh? Why?" I ask.

"I'll tell you later. I need to find Ash, too. Do you know where he is?"

"Uhh... we split up. If we hurry, we might get to him." Shizen nodded, and we look around. I had no idea where he went, to be honest, so this was going to be one wild goose chase. Passing several stands, yelling Ash's name, we searched all over the bazaar, but to no avail.

"What do we do?" Shizen sighs. "If I can't find him, I'm toast..."

"Wait, I know!" Wesley perks up. "I can fly around and look for him."

"Oh, yeah!" I say excitedly. "That'd be a big help. We'll stay here as you look, okay?"

"Okay. I'll let you take care of Liana." He summons his wings and takes off. I don't know how long we waited, but it was a pretty long time. Shizen was getting agitated.

"Come on..." he sighs. "Isn't he back yet?"

"Why're you so restless, anyway?" Liana asks.

"You see, I forgot something extremely important with the two of you when you challenged my gym. And if I don't let you do it, I'll have to revoke Ash's Nature Badge that he worked so hard for."

"What?!" I yell. "No way!"

"Unfortunately, it's the truth. I only hope... uh... who is he, anyway?"

"Liana's brother. Wesley."

"Yeah, Wesley. I hope he comes back."

"Right on cue!" Comes a voice. Turning around, we see both Wesley and Ash running towards us.

"Shizen?" Ash asks. "What're you doing here?"

I inform him of the impending threat to his Nature Badge, to his surprise. But he's more than willing to defend it.

"So... what do you need us to do?" I ask.

"You see, all the gyms have a Gym Mission before the challenger can battle the Gym Leader. My mission takes place in the Wild Area. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah!" Ash and I declare in unison.

"Great! Although... the Wild Area's kind of far from here..."

"Don't worry," I say. "I've gotcha covered on that front." I cast the Zoom spell to teleport us right to the Wild Area, and Shizen is shocked to experience it for the first time. I guess I wouldn't put it past him. We enter the same forest where I found Wesley, and we eventually reach an area I don't recognize. "So, what do we do now?" I ask.

"It's simple: Reach the end of the obstacle course!"

"An obstacle course, huh?" Wesley says cockily. "Well, I'm gonna cheese this one."

"'Cheese?'" I ask.

"...Never mind, you wouldn't understand."

"Don't let your guard down, though. Cheating's not allowed. So, Wesley, sorry to say this, but you can't fly here."

"Oh," Wesley says, disappointed. "That's kind of a letdown."

"Anyway, in order to reach the goal, you need to pass three trials. I'd tell them what you'd face, but... better to let you find out firsthand, right?"

"Oh, yeah!" Ash says. "That just makes it even more exciting!"

"You really like a challenge, don'tcha, Ash?" I tease him.

"You know, the challenge makes it fun. Alright, let's do this!"

Shizen blows a whistle to signal the start of the mission. The first thing we run into is a structure of carved wood. It looked like we had to jump our way to reach the next segment.

"Well, this doesn't look too easy," I say. But before I even finish, Liana runs ahead, and she clears those jumps like they're nothing. Wesley and Pikachu do the same, albeit with a little difficulty, as we stand there, jaw hanging.

"Alright, me next!" Ash volunteers. He jumps ahead, and he almost falls a few times, but he reaches the end. "You're up, David!" he called.

"Eh... Fine." I hesitate a little before I make the first jump. Another... then another... Hey, this isn't too hard after all! Just a little more and I'll reach the-

**BAM!**

Oof! Guess I got a little too cocky... I fell. Shoot, now how do I make my way back? I go back all the way to the start and climb a flight of stairs to restart. I make the same jumps I did before, and I fail at the last jump again. How could I do this? I tried to think of a strategy...

"Ash!" I call out. "I don't think I can make that jump by myself, so maybe you could try to catch me as I make that last jump."

"Got it," he responds. "I think I can do that!"

One more time. This time for sure! Doing the same easy jumps again, I reach the last platform. I jump, and... I grab the ledge! Ash pulls me up as I struggle to hang on. Not how I planned it, but that's fine.

"Phew, that was close. Thanks!"

"Alright, now what do we have for our next one?" Liana asks. "A wall?" True to her word, a wall was now blocking our path, with blocks of wood protruding from it. Liana eagerly steps forward, and climbs the wall like it's nothing. Pikachu also jumps from handhold to handhold, and reaches the top just as easily. Wesley, however, makes it halfway before he falls off, and I catch him.

"This wall's kind of tough," he says. "It's not going down without a fight."

"Maybe I can help you," I offer. "You can sit on my shoulders, I guess."

"You sure? That might put some strain on you."

"I'll be fine. I've climbed a wall with no ledges on it before, right?"

"Well, you have a point."

He climbs up my body, and once he's perched there, I begin my ascent. It was a little tricky at first, but I slowly got the hang of it. A little more and I'd reach the top. But my foot slips, and I'm left helpless.

"Woah!" I yelp. "What do I do?!"

"Leave this to us," Wesley says confidently. He gives his hand to Liana, who pulls her up. Afterward, both of them team up to let me clear the wall. They were smaller than me, but with their strength combined, they manage to help me out.

"Phew. Thanks, you two."

"Alright, now that's how it's done!" Ash says triumphantly as he pulls himself up to the top. I had to say, he was way more physically fit than I was. Maybe even Liana and Wesley had a similar level of fitness. But even so, it was nice to have friends help me. The third segment consisted of two paths, with a sign on each of them. The path on the left instructed Ash and I to go there, while Pikachu, Liana, and Wesley went to the right.

"So, what's the gimmick here?" I ask absentmindedly. Turns out I didn't need to wait long to find out. Our two groups weren't so far away, so we could see each other and hear each other as well. Liana called out to us, and we saw that their path was cut off. The gap was so large they couldn't jump across.

"What do we do?" Liana calls.

"Hey, David, look at this," Ash says, turning my attention to him. He was pointing at a lever. "Do you think we should use this?"

"Uh... I think so," I respond. He steps aside as I move forward to pull it. I could hear some sort of machine starting up, and when I turned around, a bridge suddenly appeared on the other team's path.

"Oh, I get it now. We're supposed to use our paths to work together."

"That's pretty clever." After that, we run ahead on our path, but we skid to a halt as we almost fall into a trap- being a giant foam ball swinging at us to knock us off our path.

"Woah!" I yelp. "That was WAY too close for comfort!"

"David, look," Ash says. I looked, and I saw that the other team's path has been cut off by a gap. I could see a lever behind the foam ball.

"Good thing Shizen didn't choose metal for this ball's material," I sigh. "If he did, and if we got hit, we'd be... well, y'know."

"Yeah, but I can do this no prob." Ash smirks, and he starts running before I could stop him. He quickly slides under the foam ball like it's no big deal, and he pulls the lever. But it ended up doing more harm than good, to our surprise, as we see the other team fall into a pitfall! It looked like the lever triggered it. I sigh in relief for a small mercy, as Liana, Wesley, and Pikachu were still visible. "Uh... Whoops. Had no idea that would happen."

I hastily crawl under the foam ball to avoid it as it swings. "What do we do now?" I ask. "Actually, never mind." I pointed to another lever I hadn't spotted earlier, but it was behind the foam ball. Sprawling on the floor again to avoid the ball, I run over and pull it. I heard a mechanism revving up, and a staircase appeared to help the other team. They hastily went up, and they were able to reach the end. For some reason, the ball had also stopped swinging. Ash and I run over, and we give each other a high-five as we reach the end.

"Thanks, guys," I thank Liana and Wesley. "You did a good job."

"You, too," Ash says to Pikachu. "That's the Gym Mission done!"

"Nice job," Shizen says out of nowhere, surprising me. "And thanks. You got me out of a real jam."

"How so?" Wesley asks.

"Just the other day, I received a warning from the admin. She said my Gym would be temporarily decommissioned if I didn't make you two go through the Gym Mission. Also, she noted that I let you battle me before you did it."

"Admin?" Liana repeats.

"Yeah. These Gyms are moderated by the chairman. Her name's Viola, but I simply just refer to her as 'the admin.'"

"I see... Well, I'm glad we were able to help you," Rotom says.

"You really saved me, and I'll do you a kindness in return." He turned to me, and smirked cockily.

"Wanna rematch me yet?"

* * *

The one in which David and Ash save Shizen from a troubling situation. And David gets his offer for a rematch!

I'm sorry this came so late, but I had to deal with a lack of motivation.


	14. One Down, Three to Go

"Well?!" Lynn yells. "What do you have to say for yourself?!"

"W-Woah!" I stutter. "What's wrong?"

"You just up and disappeared! Do you have any idea how worried we were about you?!"

"Now, now," Allison says. "I get that you're worried, Lynn, but you shouldn't shriek at him."

"I know that. It's just that..."

"It's totally cool," Ash responds. "We had to help Shizen out."

"How so?" Robert asks.

"Apparently he forgot to make us do the Gym Mission, and his gym was going to be temporarily decommissioned if we didn't do it. Our Nature Badges would have been revoked, too."

"Still," Lynn sighs. "We were worried sick! You could have warned us, you know!"

The next day, I stood at the entrance to the Grama Gym, heart racing and fists clenched. This was it. I was about to face Shizen in a Gym Battle! All three of us were thinking random thoughts before our fight.

"I'm really nervous," Liana shudders.

"I don't really blame you," Wesley replies. "Shizen must be tough."

"He's tougher than you think," I inform him. "Liana and I were beaten twice in a row. But maybe with you on the team, we might be able to take this 3rd fight."

"Well, of course. You gotta change things up if your first strategy doesn't work, right?"

I smirk and cock my head. "No use standing here. Let's face the inevitable!" Liana and Wesley cheer in excitement. And when I said "inevitable," I meant "We're finally gonna win this!" I open the door, and we walk down the hallway. Ash and the others cheer for us as we appear. From the other end, we could see Shizen.

"You're here," Shizen says. "Here for your Nature Badge, huh?"

"Uh-huh," I reply. "And we're gonna win this time."

"Let's not be so cocky, shall we? You know that overconfidence can be just as dangerous as not having any confidence at all."

"We'll see about that. We're still having a Double Battle, right? Then let's have one! Liana! Wesley! Let's do this!" Liana and Wesley dash forth to take their spots on the battlefield. Shizen sends out his same old Nuzleaf and Phantump.

Luckily, I had all night to think up a strategy. I was planning on debilitating Nuzleaf and Phantump's defense by having Liana and Wesley perform a killer-combo Ink Shower, then go all-out with their strongest moves. And if Liana or Wesley got wiped out, I'd step in their place and Dynamax the other. If both fainted, I'd have to fight by myself, but I tried not to think about that worst-case scenario.

Rotom informed me that I should consider casting Sizz on them, since both of them were Grass types, and they were weak to fire. But I told it that I'd only do it if I had to step in, keeping in line with my new tactic. And it looked like I had the upper hand, because...

"You make the first move," Shizen offered.

"I accept! Both of you, use Ink Shower!"

Liana and Wesley jump into the air and use their signature moves in unison, bombarding Nuzleaf and Phantump with pink and red ink before they have time to react. Their combined attacks leave them more debilitated than normal.

"Nuzleaf!" Shizen commands. "Use Razor Leaf on Wesley! Phantump, use Leech Seed!"

Nuzleaf summons a storm of leaves to send at Wesley, but he's too quick, and he dodges it. But both of them are caught off guard as roots emerge from the ground and grab at Liana and Wesley's bodies.

"What is this?!" Liana shrieks.

"Leech Seed!" Rotom explains. "It's a move that drains at the target's stamina and gives it to the user!" Uh oh, that's not good! I didn't factor this into my strategy. I wish I could go over and cut them free, but rules are rules. I was relieved to hear from Rotom that even though they were Leech Seeded, they could still attack. The roots held them still, so I had to change my strategy slightly.

"Liana! Inky Jolt! Wesley! Use Ink Shower!" The two of them launch their attacks. Wesley's Ink Shower hits first, and it weakens them further. Liana's Inky Jolt hits next, which was a great follow-up. But Phantump begins to heal itself by draining at Liana and Wesley's health. Although it doesn't do much, it seemed like it'd be a nuisance. So I decided to deal with Phantump first. But since they were bound, it looked pretty hard...

"Can you break out?" I ask. Both of them struggle in reply. It looked like it wasn't possible.

"Get 'em!" Shizen orders. "Both of you, hit Wesley with your Tackles!" Nuzleaf and Phantump charge Wesley down, and he's forced to take the brunt of it. "Use a bunch of Tackles!" I see! He's trying to take Wesley out because he can dodge more easily! I had to think something up to get him out of there... He takes another pair of Tackles as I struggle to come up with a strategy.

"Aha!" I exclaim. "I've got it! Wesley, break out by summoning your wings!" Wesley struggles a bit, but he's able to easily summon his wings to break free. Nice! He goes over to Liana and breaks her out, too. Wesley looked badly hurt, though. I ordered him to return as I step onto the battlefield.

"So you're finally stepping up to the plate," Shizen notes. "Well, this'll be fun! Nuzleaf, Air Cutter! Phantump, Branch Poke!" Nuzleaf unleashes an attack so strong it creates a sort of small shockwave, and Phantump begins to assault Liana by using a branch embedded in its head. But I step in to take both hits. It hurts, but it's going according to plan. Now I had them in my clutches! I cast Sizz to attack both of them with a super-effective hit! Nuzleaf faints, but Phantump hangs in there.

"You're really getting serious now, and you've gotten pretty strong, too. But I'm also strong! I won't go down without a fight!" Shizen pulls a bottle out of his pocket, and he sprays whatever's inside on Phantump. I could see that Phantump was getting healed! Even worse, the ink Liana and Wesley put on Phantump was disappearing, but the bottle wasn't doing that- it was disappearing on its own. Dang, that's not good! But I guess I could also use items, considering the rules, but I didn't really need to yet.

"I'm down to my last Pokemon. And since we're backed into a corner, it's time to unleash our trump card! Phantump, return!" Shizen brings out Phantump's Poke Ball, and he begins to Dynamax it. The gigantic Phantump stares us down as we stare back.

"Ugh... You're something else, that's for sure," I mutter. "But there's no way I'll lose a second time! Liana, I think the moves that I've seen so far aren't going to do that much. Maybe you should try a different move."

Liana nods, and she assaults Phantump. Her hand glows, and she unleashes a sort of karate chop, but it looks like it's more than that. She informs me she knows "Iron Chop," which Rotom couldn't find in its database, so I assumed it to be another of Liana's signature moves. I follow up with a Flame Slash to deal more damage with a super-effective hit.

Phantump counterattacks with a Max Overgrowth, and it does some serious hurt to me. I don't think I'd be able to fight after that... If I stayed any longer, I'd risk getting knocked out. I order Wesley to step back onto the battlefield as I retreat, not realizing that I was doing something seriously dangerous. Dynamaxing drastically increases a Pokemon's power, so I decided to counter that. "Liana! Wesley!" I command them. "Use Ink Shower!"

Their attacks land on Phantump, and its defense decreases. But it counters with Max Overgrowth, and it knocks Wesley out! Even worse, it keeps up its momentum, and it even KOs Liana with a Max Strike!

"**NO!**" I scream in utter shock and despair. I fall to my knees as I'm overwhelmed. Ash and the others gasp in horror.

"Nice job, Phantump!" Shizen cheers. It was clear he got lucky- Liana was still going strong. If Phantump didn't hit so hard, then maybe she wouldn't have fainted.

"D-David..." Wesley gasps. I get up and quickly run over to him. "You're... the o-only one who can f-finish this..."

"But how?!" I say. "Shizen's no joke! He's crazy strong!"

"You're... qu-quite tough, too, and I know it... You did s-something u-unimaginable the o-other day, you kn-know. If y-you could reunite l-lil' sis and I... then surely... you c-can... win this..." Those are the last words I hear from him as he closes his eyes. Heart pounding, I return Liana and Wesley to their Hybri Balls. They failed, and it fell to me to win it all.

I'll be honest, I was legitimately scared out of my wits. Not just because I had to fight a Dynamaxed Phantump all on my own, but the fact that I was so close to losing again after coming so far also horrified me. So... this was what true fear felt like, huh...?

But I couldn't dwell on it. I wasn't just close to defeat, I was also close to victory. Liana and Wesley had played their parts well in lowering Phantump's defense a considerable amount. The unthinkable was here and now, but I had to break through it. I was more than ready to put this fight to an end.

Suddenly, I feel a slight headache. What's up with that? But I decide not to think about that. I stood up, gritting my teeth, and I drew my sword, ready to fight. I had to do this right, and I knew exactly how.

"You're no pushover," I mutter. "Even after all that improvement, you're still a formidable foe... But don't think, for even an instant... that it'll be all for naught!" I charge in yelling as loud as I can. Phantump attempts to intercept me with a Max Strike, but I dodge quickly and I land a Flame Slash. However, Phantump manages to land a Max Overgrowth, and I almost black out.

But to my relief, its Dynamax finally ends, and it shrinks back down to normal size. But I'm too tired to dodge as it hits me in the face with a Tackle, and then another. Why?! After coming so far, why do I have to lose?!

"C'mon, David!" A voice came from the left. Ash was cheering me on.

"You can do it!" Allison rallies me.

"Don't give up!" Robert yells.

Friends... they're the best thing I could ever have. I couldn't disappoint them, nor could I even disappoint myself. Everyone had my back. Smiling, I stand up, new power surging within.

"Let's do this," I say. "CRACK!" I swing my sword upward, and an icicle emerges as I slash. It goes flying at Phantump, and it makes contact. Phantump goes flying and lands near Shizen.

"Woah!" Ash exclaims. "Did he learn a new spell?!"

"That was super effective!" Rotom says. "Phantump aren't just weak to Fire-type moves, they're also weak to Ice-type moves!"

"Are you alright, Phantump?!" Shizen says. Phantump slowly gets up. It's just hanging in there! But one more attack should finish it off... "Nice job. Use Tackle!" I brace myself for the attack, but to my surprise, Phantump... doesn't move. It shakes its head at Shizen. "Why?" He asks. I felt insulted... Why was it wussing out now? I gripped my sword tightly as I begin to speak.

"Phantump..." I sigh, as it turns to me. "I understand how you feel... but you have to keep going. To stop now would be nothing more of an insult to everyone... You've gotta see it through to the end! That's why I'm challenging your trainer!"

"...David?" Shizen asks. But I ignore him.

"Even if you lose, it's not the end-all-be-all. It's not a stopping point. Think about it: Did my previous losses stop me from coming back? The point is, defeat is only a part of victory!"

Phantump gasps, then it closes its eyes, thinking hard. Did I get through to it? I was speaking from the heart, after all. Finally, it nods, and it smiles at me, then at Shizen. It got into a battling stance, which gave me the heads-up that it definitely took my words to heart.

"Yeah, that's more like it! I know defeat sucks, and it always does. But it's what makes us stronger!"

Shizen looked really relieved for some reason, but I wasn't about to ask him about it. I wanted to focus on the here and now. So I charged in, and Phantump does the same. Phantump lands a Tackle, and then a Branch Poke. I'm almost down and out, but I'm not going to give up. I retaliate by landing three hits in a row. It's a really close match now, and any side could win.

"Phantump!" Shizen calls out. "Finish him off with Tackle!" Phantump charges in, but I don't move. I get ready to cast Crack again, and when Phantump closes the distance, I swing. Our clash of attacks trigger a small (but harmless) explosion that hides us from Ash and the others' view as they yell in suspense. When the dust settles, I look behind me to see Phantump, who has fainted.

"YES!" I cheer. "Victory!" I finally did it! That was WAY too close for comfort, to be honest. Ash and the others come down from the bleachers and surround me as they give their congratulations. Although I wish Liana and Wesley was there, too, but I guess it couldn't be helped that they had to stay in their Hybri Balls.

"Congrats, David!" Chloe says.

"You were awesome out there!" Aaron compliments me.

"Heh... thanks, guys," I say in gratitude. "I couldn't have done this without your support."

"David?" I turn to Shizen, who was now approaching me. "Thanks. Not just for the fight, but for Phantump, too."

"How is that?"

"You see, Phantump has always hated losing. When it knew it was about to lose, it always went against my orders, and it was putting itself down. But you made Phantump realize that defeat isn't the end. So, as a way of saying thanks... Here's your Nature Badge!"

He brings out a green badge, shaped like a tree. Smiling, I take it, but I realize that I don't have a badge case. So, I clip it to my shirt instead.

"It looks great on you!" Lynn says.

"Heheh, thanks! One gym down..." I begin.

"...And three more to go!" All of us finish in unison.

* * *

The one in which David earns his Nature Badge!

Phew. Glad this one finally got out. It's taking me forever to finish chapters, sorry.


	15. The Journey Begins

"Congrats, David!" Ash says, slapping my back.

"Ash, you've said that approximately ten times now," Rotom states.

"It's alright, Rotom," I reply. "Shizen was really hard to beat. And now, I've got my Nature Badge!" I flash the badge on my shirt.

"So, the day after tomorrow, we're going to Floji, right? Can't wait to see what Floji Town has to offer!"

"And then our journey will finally- ngh!" I stumble before I could finish my sentence. Another headache? I don't think this is normal. My gaze falls onto the clipped-on badge, and the headache intensifies. I clutch my head with one hand in pain.

"D-David!" Liana cries.

"Are you okay?!" Ash asks. It was at this moment that the headache subsided.

"I-I'm fine," I stutter. "It just passed... It's alright."

We decided to go to bed that night. But even after lights out, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen. The headaches I experienced earlier felt like it was triggered by someone... or something, maybe. Was this a part of remembering my past?

I didn't have to wait long, though. Because the next day, I'd find out. We met up with the crew, and we went to Grama Bazaar like we did yesterday. Since it felt like nothing was going to change our plans, we decided to enjoy the rest of the day.

"...And then what do we do after this?" I ask, when we reach the bazaar.

"We're headed to the Wild Area," Aaron responds. "Maybe we could do another Max Raid Battle."

"A Max Raid Battle, huh?" Ash repeats. "Haven't done one of those in a while. The thought really fires me up!"

"And you wouldn't need to look around too much," Rotom bloops. "The chance of encountering a Dynamaxed Pokemon in a Wild Area in one of those dens is 79 percent!"

"How would you know that, Rotom?" I ask doubtfully.

"Don't forget, I'm a Rotom Dex. There's a lot that I can do!"

"...That doesn't really answer my question, but whatever. What should we look for?"

"I know!" Chloe pipes up. "Ash, you should know that Milcery can evolve into Alcremie, and you'll need a certain item to do it."

"For real?!" Ash exclaims. "That's so awesome! What do I need in order to evolve Milcery?"

"They're called Sweets. They're a little rare, so they can be kinda pricey."

"Well then, let's look for one!" All of us agree, and we take off. Not in different directions, mind you. We looked around for a stand that sold Sweets. And guess what? We found one. To be honest, when Allison said that they're rare, I thought finding a stand that sold Sweets would be tough. The stand we went to was run by two shopkeepers and a Pokemon.

"Welcome!" One of the shopkeepers welcomes us.

"Our general store has just what you need," The second claims.

"And you can thank us later for being here when you need it!" The third one announces.

I glanced at them oddly. Something about them was a little... familiar. Gal with pink hair? Guy with blue hair? Talking Meowth? ...Actually, no. I remembered my previous run-ins with Team Rocket, and we blew them so far away they flew into the sky and outta our sight, so there's no way they'd be in Terelm, or at least in Grama.

"Are you selling Sweets?" Ash asks.

"Sweets?" The pink-haired shopkeeper repeats. "Uh... Hold on, let me do an inventory check." She turns around and starts rummaging in a few crates. Finally, she puts some items on the table. One of them looked like strawberries, another looked like hearts, and the last looked like flowers.

"Which one?" The blue one asks. "A Strawberry Sweet, a Love Sweet, or a Flower Sweet? All are the same price."

"Oh, I dunno... Which do I choose?" Ash asks himself.

"Well, if you can't decide, maybe Milcery can," I say.

"Oh, great idea! Milcery, come out!" Ash sends Milcery out of its Poke Ball. Its attention is immediately drawn to the Sweets on the table. "Which one do you want?" Ash asks his Pokemon. Milcery takes its time to decide. Finally, it takes the Love Sweet.

"Good choice," Meowth says. Ash takes the Love Sweet from Milcery, and it lets Milcery wear the sweet on the center of its head, kind of like the way you'd put a topping on a cake, a sundae, or something of that caliber. The price was considerable, to say the least, but Ash somehow purchased it on his own, which meant that the rest of us didn't have to bother pooling our cash. Then we took off, but as we left I thought I could hear slight giggling from behind me.

"What do you think, Milcery?" Lynn asks. "Like it?" Milcery smiles in response.

"Looks like Milcery really likes it," Ash says. "What do I do next to make it evolve?" The rest of us glanced at each other with odd looks. I guess none of us knew. "Oh, well. Maybe I'll evolve it through training!"

"Then, let's- gah!" There it was again... the occasional headache. But it was even stronger this time, and I instinctively clenched my head with both hands.

"Woah!" Allison yelps.

"Are you alright, dude?!" Robert yells. After a little while, the headache subsides.

"I... I'm alright. Let's hit the Wild Area." Despite being concerned, everyone else agrees. I cast Zoom in order to save time. But when we arrived, Ash walked right past all the dens. When I asked him why, he replies by saying he wanted to train Milcery in wild Pokemon battles. To be honest, I didn't get why he wanted to, but I guess I had to trust him.

Suddenly, I felt that familiar feeling of danger. Was something about to jump us? My fears were confirmed when I saw some bushes rustling.

"Is something wrong?" Wesley asks.

"Stand back, guys," I warn everyone. Suddenly, not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR figures jump out of the bush and unleash a combo attack! Everyone jumps backward in time to avoid the assaulters' moves. I instinctively draw my sword, and then that's when it hit me. A Chespin? Was it the same one as the one when I had my first encounter with Team Rocket? Rotom steps in and reads the entries of its friends.

"Scorbunny: The rabbit Pokemon. A Fire type. A warm-up of running around gets fire energy coursing through this Pokemon's body. Once that happens, it's ready to fight at full power. Next, there's Oshawott: The sea otter Pokemon. A Water type. Oshawott attacks and defends using the scalchop that can be removed from its stomach. Finally, Pichu: The tiny mouse Pokemon. An Electric type. The electric sacs on Pichu's cheeks are small. If it tries to store more electricity than it can hold, Pichu will shock itself."

"What was that for?!" Ash yells at them.

"Chespin!" Chespin says. "Pin-Pin!"

"...Huh?" I ask, befuddled. Then I remember that Pokemon can generally only say parts of their names.

"Wait a minute..." Liana says. "'I've waited long enough for this...?'"

"What're you saying, Liana?"

"I think I can understand what it's saying... 'You jumped me the other day, and now we're paying you back for it?'"

"Uh... Well, I guess that isn't far from the truth."

"'From my experience, you're definitely like those bad guys, so we're gonna do our job and expel you from the Wild Area?!' What?! We were just trying to catch you!"

"Che! Chespin!" Chespin says. At this, Chespin pointed at me.

"'But we have no problem with you guys. It's only him we need to beat...?' Why do you only want to fight David?"

"Liana," I interrupt her. "I don't think these guys wanna reason with us. It's probably best if we get them out of our way, but I won't beat 'em up too hard."

"I-I see... Well, you better do so, okay?" Liana and the others move back a lot to give us space to fight. I decide to make the first move by casting Sizz on the foes. Chespin takes big damage from a super-effective hit, while Scorbunny and Oshawott take a lot less damage. Pichu also suffers just as much damage as Chespin, despite not hitting its weakness.

But they put up an impressive combo attack as a means of retaliation. Chespin uses Vine Whip, which doesn't do so much hurt to me. Scorbunny uses Ember, which also doesn't do so much. And Pichu does some decent damage with a Thunder Shock. But Oshawott really brings down the pain with a Water Gun, which damages me severely! Was I weak to Water-type moves? That was bad. Looks like I had a whole new problem to deal with.

"David!" Liana screams.

"What is it?!" I yell back.

"You should take Oshawott down first! It looks like it can hit you hard!"

"Thanks for the advice, kid!" I set my sights on Oshawott and ponder what it could be weak to. It couldn't be weak to fire, so I decided to cast Crack on it. But it doesn't do much, either. Seriously?!

"Oshawott is a Water type," Rotom repeats. "Which means it will resist your Frizz, Sizz, and Crack spells! You should just do normal attacks on it!"

"NOW you tell me?!" I scream in disbelief. "Come on!" I barely got to charge at Oshawott when Chespin charged at me and bit me hard. But it was clear it was trying too hard, as it felt like I took another super-effective hit, this time to the arm. Now I had TWO menaces to deal with... I was originally going to go for Oshawott, but since Chespin was also a super-effective hitter, and it had an affinity for my Frizz spell, I just decided to attack it first.

But when I hurl the Frizz at Chespin, Scorbunny steps in and takes the attack in Chespin's place. Dang it! These guys were tough! What was I thinking?! How could I win a fight four to one?! The only thing I could think of was to cast some sort of other spell on it. But I usually learn new spells in tough times, and for some reason it wasn't happening now. In the meantime, I decided to try to hold out a little longer. I pulled two Sitrus Berries from my bag and narfed them down in order to heal myself.

Since Scorbunny was gonna be so stubborn, I decided to take it out first. Since it was a Fire type, I knew the spells I currently had at my disposal would do nothing, so I rushed at it and quickly sliced it, then again before it could blink. I actually learned this "Falcon Slash" skill yesterday, after training. But Scorbunny retaliates by Double Kicking me in the face, and Pichu, who has crept up from behind me, jumps onto me and hits me with a Nuzzle.

Their combo attack didn't do so much, but the electricity from Pichu's Nuzzle leaves me paralyzed. Shoot, that was bad! It might stop me from attacking. If only I had a berry that could heal this ailment... But I didn't have tim to react as Oshawott lands another super-effective Water Gun, and Chespin gets another super-effective Bite. I decided I've had enough. I begin to cast a new spell.

"What's your problem?!" I yell at the Pokemon. "Just quit it! WOOSH!" A small whirlwind appears and sends the foes flying a short distance. I didn't land any super-effective hits, but it was able to deal some good damage to all of them. Nice! There was the new spell I needed! I hope it would be pretty useful later on... Scorbunny and Pichu were pretty weakened now. But it wasn't enough. If I had to get out of here, I needed to weaken them all. So I set my sights back to Chespin, and got ready to throw a Frizz.

But the paralysis that was ailing me prevented me from moving! Dang it, this sucks! Chespin goes in for a Rollout. Its attack leaves me pretty injured, and Oshawott manages to land another Water Gun, which almost KOs me. I'm on my knees now, but I don't give up. I throw a Frizz at Chespin to weaken it, then I painstakingly Falcon Slash Oshawott twice. I'm almost out of magical energy, but I didn't care, since all of them were struggling to get up now.

I knew that I couldn't leave them injured like that, and I couldn't afford to be injured either, so I reached into my bag and ate four Oran Berries in order to fully heal myself, then one of my few Leppa Berries in order to restore my magical energy. Then I pulled out some Sitrus Berries and chucked them at the Pokemon as a distraction. I knew that they'd take the time to eat them, and that would be my chance to bolt.

But out of nowhere, something like a laser damages me and sends me flying. Ash and the others manage to catch me before I hit the ground. When I look to where the laser landed, I see it: A mech. It shakes the ground every time it steps towards us.

"What's going on now?!" Allison screams.

"Prepare for trouble, you'll soon find out." An all-too-familiar voice speaks from the mech.

"And make it double, you'll know what we're all about!" Says the voice I was expecting to follow.

"To protect the world from devastation..."

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love..."

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"And James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare for one unfair fight!"

"Meow! That's right!"

I guess Team Rocket shifts their motto to match the current situation. But that's nothing more than trivial.

"Team Rocket!" Susie shrieks at them.

"Causing more trouble, aren't you?!" Ash yells with her.

"Of course," James answers. "That's our job, as you well know."

"As for you, twerp," Jessie says, pointing at Ash. "We have to thank you. The money you gave us for that Sweet was just enough funds to finish off our masterpiece."

"Masterpiece?!" Ash repeats in disbelief.

"I knew it!" I say. "So it really was you who sold Ash that Sweet!" Everyone looks at me and gasps in surprise.

"How did you know that?!" Chloe gasps.

"You remember how Ash purchased that Sweet for Milcery, right? Well, those shopkeepers had a striking resemblance to Team Rocket."

"Ooh," Meowth says mockingly. "For a twerp, you're rather sharp."

"**DON'T CALL ME A TWERP, DANG IT!**" I don't think I've ever yelled so loud in my life. I think I yelled so loud that everyone around me flinched, even Team Rocket.

"Woah!" Aaron yelps.

"O-Okay," Jessie finally says. "We get it. You don't wanna be called a twerp, but we don't care. Let's do this!"

The trio jumps into their mech, and they prepare for battle. The first thing they do is launch a net from within their mech and capture the four Pokemon I was battling earlier. I tried to cut the net, but it was too fast, and they were pulled inside.

"Okay, guys," Ash says. "First order of business is to free those four Pokemon! Pikachu, let's do this!" Pikachu jumps from Ash's shoulder, and I let Liana and Wesley step up. Allison, Robert, and Lynn also let their Hybrimon prepare to fight. Pikachu launches a Thunderbolt, but it doesn't do anything. Weren't machines supposed to be weak to electricity? I was thinking that when the Thunderbolt was reflected and it strikes Pikachu, dealing massive damage.

"Oh, just quit trying," James says. "We've taken the data from previous models and used it to install an electricity-repelling system!" What?! They can do that?! That wasn't good. But mechs are made of metal, and if what I was thinking was correct, then we might have a chance.

"Liana! Wesley! Use Ink Shower!" I command them. Their attacks cover the mech in debilitating ink. Chloe, Aaron, and Susie attack with a Quick Attack, an Ember, and a Tackle. That was a pretty good combo, but it's time to bring down the hurt. I rush in and use Metal Slash on the mech. Of course, the mech was indeed metal, and Metal Slash is a skill devoted to destroying metal stuff. The mech suffers a lot of damage.

But the mech counterattacks by launching a laser that hits all of us and sends us flying. Even though it's not enough to knock any of us out, it does some serious damage to all of us. The mech follows up with some rocket punches that hit Pikachu and I, and we're both struggling to even stand.

"Are you alright?!" Allison yelps.

"C-Can't... go on..." I gasp.

"Yeesh, that looks serious!" Chloe flinches.

"Then let's help out! Chloe, use Life Dew!"

Mysterious water appears out of nowhere and soaks us. It heals our wounds! Since when did Chloe have this healing ability?

"HEY!" Meowth screams. "You twerps can't do that! That's cheating!"

"Who needs rules when you're fighting criminals?" I counter. You might think I'm being unoriginal, but I'm just reusing my material. I charge in with another Metal Slash to deal massive damage. Aaron also uses Ember for another super-effective hit, since steel is weak to fire. But then the mech started malfunctioning. That wasn't good! If it blew up with the Pokemon inside, they'd blast off, too! I stop the guys from attacking any further and explain to them why.

"Yeah, you're right!" Susie realizes.

"Then we'll need to think of a different strategy," Ash says.

I tried to think of something I could do. Then it hit me. If I could turn it off, then I could Metal Slash the area where the Pokemon were being held within the mech, then send Team Rocket blasting off. But who would hook their mech to a cable? But then I saw it. A long, metal wire, right behind the mech.

"Guys," I whisper. "Try to survive their attacks while I sneak behind them and Metal Slash that wire."

"Seriously?" Robert asks, disappointed. "Why would idiots like them make their mech a wired device?"

"Worry about that later, worry about saving those Pokemon now." Breathlessly, I run off to the side.

"That's more like it," James smirks. "Run with your tail between your legs like the twerp you are!" Seriously, why did they keep calling me "twerp?" It was really infuriating, but I suppressed the anger that was building up within me and focused on the plan. I had to walk through a few bushes in order to successfully sneak up on them. I could hear the mech attacking, and I knew that Ash's team was having trouble.

I finally managed to get behind them, and I crept up to the wire. But out of the corner of my eye, the mech lands a super-charged laser, which almost obliterates everyone! An uncontrolled yelp escapes my lips, and the mech quickly turns to me.

"Ooh, you're quite the cheeky twerp," Jessie says.

I ignored her taunt. The good news was that I Metal Slashed the wire as quickly as I could, and I actually succeeded. But the bad news was that the mech landed a punch on me, which sent me flying. A few bushes cushion my landing. But I could see that my sword was knocked out of my hands, and it landed near Ash's team.

"David!" Aaron screams. "Are you alright?!"

"I-I'm fine," I choke. "Ch-Chloe! H-Heal us, please!"

Allison takes Chloe's hand and steps back a lot in order to protect her from further harm. Another Life Dew heals our wounds. Right on cue, the mech stopped moving, and Team Rocket jumps out.

"The twerp cut our power supply!" Meowth exclaims.

"But look- his sword's gone," James observes.

"I see," Jessie replies. "If we stop that twerp from getting his sword, then we'll have one less problem to deal with."

"**I'M NOT A TWERP!**" I scream. "Geez! And you do know I have my magic at my disposal!" I rush at my sword, but Jessie quickly sends out Gourgeist and Leech Seeds me in order to pin me down. Good thing I knew exactly how to deal with this situation. I prepare a Frizz, but I don't throw it. Instead, I simply hold it to the roots in order to burn it. Susie hits Gourgeist with an Inky Pulse, and it's blown out of my way.

James also sends out Mareanie, but it surprises me by glomping into his head and poisoning him. Why does Mareanie keep doing that? But I decided to worry about that later. The roots eventually disintegrate, and I rush at my weapon. But Mareanie stops me by using Spike Cannon, and it's a good thing I dodged in time. Turning to Mareanie, I throw the Frizz I used to burn through the Leech Seed at it to distract it, then I pull the blade out of the ground.

"Alright, let's do this!" I yell. I target the torso of the mech and Metal Slash it. The attack is so strong it leaves a giant hole for the Pokemon that were trapped to jump out of! Yes!

"Nice job, David!" Ash says. "Now we'll wrap this up! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu charges up, and releases as much electricity as it can into its Thunderbolt. It's strong enough to blow up the mech, and also strong enough to send Team Rocket flying with another synchronized "We're blasting off again!" as they eventually disappear from sight.

"And don't come back!" I taunt. I knew they couldn't hear me, but whatever.

"Che... Chespin," Chespin says as it turns to me.

"What now?"

"Let's see... 'I think I was wrong,'" Liana translates. "'Maybe some humans are okay, I guess.'"

"Yeah, you're right. You can't judge someone just by their looks."

"You know, Chespin, I'm sorry we jumped you like that the other day. Can you forgive us?"

"Yeah," Chespin says. Wait... WHAT?! All of us gasp in surprise. Since when was Chespin talking to us directly?!

"Y-You just talked!" I stammer.

"Huh?! You actually heard me?!"

"There's no doubt about it," Wesley says, stepping forward. "We've regained that ability!"

"What ability?"

"You see, when a Hybrimon is nearby, people around it can understand Pokemon. Although I don't know why this is so..."

"That's so cool!" Ash exclaims.

"But why couldn't we understand Pokemon when Chloe, Aaron, or Susie were around us?" Lynn asks.

"I... don't know," Wesley admits.

"Well," Chespin interrupts us, "I have to thank you. You really helped us out."

"You're welcome, Chespin," I reply.

A little later, we were standing at the exit to Grama Town, and it was sunset. We were about to start our journey for real.

"So, this is it, huh?" I sigh.

"Uh-huh," Ash replies. "We're finally off to Floji."

"Finally!" Allison exclaims. "I've been waiting to get outta here!"

"Why, though?" Robert asks.

"Even though I love Grama, I've always wanted to see Floji and Sluo. Maybe even Bloc."

"I see. Well, then," Lynn says. "And we're-"

"Wait!" Comes a voice from behind us. Chespin, Scorbunny, Oshawott, and Pichu were all running towards us. What did they want?

"What's up?" Aaron asks them.

"We just wanted to see you off," Scorbunny explains.

"After all," Oshawott says, "It's the least we could do, after you rescued us."

"Besides, our leader has something to give you," Pichu says. True to its word, Chespin was holding something. An egg? Although I could feel power emanating from within it.

"That's a Lucky Egg," Chespin explains. "It will help you get stronger. We've been using it for a long time, but we can get by without it now. I thought you could make good use of it."

"I see. Thanks, Chespin," I say gratefully. "And hey, let's have another battle sometime, yeah?" I grin.

"Yeah! We won't go easy on you!"

Smiling, we turned back, and we stepped into the next chapter of our journey. What awaited us in Floji? Only time could tell, as our adventure continues!

* * *

The one in which David has a run-in with some on-edge Pokemon, and our Hybrimon heroes regain their ability to let people understand Pokemon!

This is the first chapter where I've exceeded 4,200 words...


	16. Curry Catastrophe

Don't get me wrong, the fact that our journey had finally begun was exciting. But it was a little troublesome, too. Our destination, as you well know, is the Floji subregion. And to reach Floji, we had to cross "Route GF." And between Route GF and Kogeta Town (Which acted as a sort of "checkpoint" between the Grama and Floji Towns), we had to make our way there in the wilderness. That meant we had to march towards Kogeta Town while surviving out here in the elements.

"Don't worry," Allison reassures me. "I understand your concerns, but we're fine on all those fronts."

"How's that?" I ask.

"You see, we just press on when it's daytime, and set up camp when it's nighttime. Simple as that."

"Also," Chloe adds, "On some occasions, we set up camp at daytime."

"Oh," I sigh. I thought it was going to be WAY more complicated, but I guess I was wrong. Suddenly I heard some sort of rumbling noise, but it was so faint I wasn't sure that I heard it. Then I hear it again. I definitely heard it that time. My gaze falls onto Ash.

"I guess I'm pretty hungry," He says.

"Then why don't we set up camp?" Lynn suggests. "We can take a break."

"That'd be a great idea!" Pikachu agrees. Not gonna lie, but it's been an hour since we hit the road and I totally forgot that I could understand Pokemon when Liana or Wesley around. Maybe Chloe, Aaron, and Susie, too.

Allison nods. She puts her bag down, and she produces a whole camping set, which totally caught me off-guard. She brought out two large, folded-up tents, a portable table, some folding chairs, and a few pots for cooking. My jaw was still hanging as everyone else sprang into action and began to set everything up. And before I knew it, they finished. Ash also sent out Milcery to let it hang around.

Not only did it look perfect, they were FAST. Like, **NINJASK FAST.** (And apparently Ninjask was one of the fastest "non-legendary" Pokemon in this world. Thanks for the tip, Rotom.) Well, okay, they weren't going so fast they were practically invisible, but you get the point.

"W-Wow," I gasp in surprise.

"Stunned? Impressed?" Chloe probed me.

"Yeah... Geez, that was really fast!"

"We learned to quickly set up camp after doing it several times," Susie explains.

"I've done it a few times myself, too," Ash adds.

"How fast did they do it, Rotom?" I ask.

"They did it in just one minute and nine seconds!" Rotom responds. That was a pretty nice time, to be honest. Afterward, I was at a loose end, a phrase which here means "I didn't know what to do." There were a lot of things I could do around the campsite, but what? Eventually, I decided to try my hand at cooking. It was the least I could do, I guess.

"I dunno, David," Aaron says timidly.

"With the girls?" Robert adds. "I swear, you've got a death wish."

"Oh, come on," I reassured them. "How bad could it be?"

"Extremely bad," Both of them say in unison, but I ignore them. I join the girls as they gather around the campfire, which hasn't been lit yet. They set up some equipment in order to make it suitable for cooking.

"So, what're we making today?" I ask.

"Well, since this is your first time," Allison says, "We'll do something simple. Got any ideas, Lynn?"

"How about curry?" She replies. The rest of us nod in agreement. "Okay, then. Firstly, we need a key ingredient." I checked my bag to see if I had anything that would be suitable for curry, but I didn't see anything noteworthy. But Chloe pulls a loaf of bread out of her bag, and Allison approves. How does bread go with curry? But I decided to think about that later.

"Next, we should all pitch in some berries," Lynn adds. I considered my options. I didn't want to waste my precious, magic-restoring Leppa Berries, and not to mention I only had something like five left. So I decided to throw in some Pecha Berries, because according to Rotom, Pecha Berries are kind of sweet. I also added some Oran Berries for good measure.

Allison put some Cheri Berries in, Chloe added a Chesto Berry, Lynn threw some Rawst Berries into the mix, and Susie finished by adding a Grepa Berry. Susie asked me to cast Frizz on the firewood to begin. After lighting the fire with my spell, we were all set.

The girls pulled out a fan from each of their bags, and Allison also gave me one. She explained that we needed to fan the flames in order to intensify it. I don't know how that worked, but I guess whatever works in this world works. I decided to put some oomph into it, and fanned it with two-handed swings. And before I knew it, the flame was pretty big, and it was working out pretty well.

Afterward, Lynn handed me a spatula. I had to stir the curry pretty well in order to make sure the flavors mixed, as she instructed me. I stirred quickly, but I hadn't noticed that I spilled occasionally. And finally, we finished making the sauce. Allison and Lynn also quickly made some rice to go with it, which was unknown to me until I finished.

"Why am I doing all of this, anyway?" I ask.

"It's your first time, right, David?" Allison replies. "So you should get some experience first." I couldn't agree more. Afterward, I volunteered to put the finishing touches on the curry. I brought out some plates and began serving the curry. I also put a slice of bread on each plate, as Chloe asked me to use her loaf of bread, as it was supposedly the key ingredient.

Finally, I put the plates on the table, and called everyone so we could eat.

"You made this, David?" Ash asked me. "Looks delish!"

"Well, thanks," I reply. "But the girls helped me, not including Liana."

"Do you think this time will be different?" Robert asks Aaron.

"I don't think so," Aaron responds. "You shouldn't get your hopes up. But then again, we've had a guy pitch in..." I was wondering why Robert and Aaron were muttering so much. And I would soon find out. I took a spoonful of curry from my plate, and ate it.

Now let me just say that was the stupidest move I've ever made. As soon as the curry hit my taste buds, I sensed something was wrong. I could tell after one bite that this curry... no, concoction, isn't edible... There's no way I could swallow it...

"Uh... David?" Liana says.

"You alright?" Ash asks, with a concerned look on his face. I take the spoon out of my mouth.

"C-Could you excuse m-me for a s-sec?" I stammer, with that concoction still in my mouth. "G-Gotta go d-do s-something." Before anyone could say anything, I put my spoon down, got up, turned on my toes, and started walking towards a small, nearby forest. After I reached a considerable distance from the camp, I did what I had to do. I won't tell you what I did- it was utterly disgusting. All I will say is that it involved spitting. Then I made my way back, but I fainted before I could even get into one of the tents.

When I came to in one of the tents, I heard a serious discussion outside. When I stepped outside, Liana immediately went up to me.

"David!" She crowed. "You're alive! By golly, I thought you were... well, y'know!"

"Calm down, lil' sis," Wesley says, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Food's not lethal."

"Well, of course I'm alive," I replied. "But on a more important note..." I turned to the girls. "What the heck did you just feed me?!" I yell angrily. "That wasn't curry, that was some... some... I dunno, poison!" The words escaped my mouth before I knew it, which caused me to grow slightly paranoid and eat a Pecha Berry to ensure that the so-called "poison" still wasn't working.

"Oh, geez..." Susie facepalmed.

"Another guy who hates our cooking, huh?" Chloe sighs. "And I thought two were enough."

"Not only does he hate your cooking," Rotom responds, "Your cooking was really wrong! Not only did you put in the wrong berries, but you made the flames too intense and stirred too much, and it ended up as some sort of spicy-dry-bitter-sweet-sour monstrosity with slices of bread slapped on it!"

"That's pretty accurate," I compliment Rotom.

"I tried to warn ya," Aaron moaned.

"But you brought this upon yourself," Robert finished for Aaron.

"Yeah, I guess you were right," I admit. "I'm not taking any more of those girls'... 'Mystery Food X.' Sorry, gals, but you gotta have some constructive criticism."

* * *

The one in which David experiences the girls' horrible cooking, and slaps a label on it.

I had no idea what to follow up the previous chapter with other than some comic relief. And yes, this is a direct reference to Persona 4.


	17. Training Time

A little later, still at camp, I decided to craft a shield. I still had that wood I purchased from Grama. So I sat down on one of the chairs, and began to carve out one of the large blocks of wood. It was my first time, so I had to keep it basic. I wanted to make it in a circular shape, then plonk a handle onto the shield. Simple, right?

Well, no.

It was harder than I thought, really. It was tough to get the shape just right, and it was really time-consuming. And by the time I finally finished carving, it came out as a sort of jagged octagon. Of course I wouldn't get it on my first try. I had no experience, anyway. But I tucked that away in my bag to work on it later. If I couldn't craft, then I decided to get stronger myself.

Of course, that meant battling.

So, I decided to go look for an opponent. Maybe a wild Pokemon? Nah. Maybe it wouldn't be right to jump some unsuspecting Pokemon. That meant fighting a trainer. So who should I fight? Ash? Actually, he and Pikachu might be a little too hard to beat. In fact, they weren't even there. Maybe they were training somewhere else, maybe with Robert or Lynn, since they weren't around, too. So, I decided to fight...

"Allison," I say. "Could you please battle me?"

"Battle you? Why?" She replies.

"I wanna get stronger. Shizen was tough, but I get the feeling that the Floji Gym Leader's gonna be even tougher. So that's why I want to battle you!"

"Well, that might be true... Ready, Chloe?" She pats her friend on the head.

"Ready as I'll ever be!" She happily replies. Smiling, I turn around and start walking away to take my position, then turn around again and draw my sword.

"Just make sure you don't go easy on me!" I warn them. "Cause I won't!"

"That's our kind of battle," Allison counters. "Alright, Chloe! Use Quick Attack!"

Before I can even react, Chloe rushes at me at such a speed she's almost invisible, and the attack hits. So I decide to counterattack by using magic. Hmm... What would be a good choice? Frizz? Crack? Woosh? I decide to try a Frizz and see how that goes. The fireball hits and does some below-borderline damage. Maybe I could do better. I cast Crack, and it does better hurt to Chloe. But would Woosh be better?

"Are you alright, Chloe?!" Allison shrieks.

"I'm fine," She replies. "What next?"

"Use Life Dew!"

Chloe uses her healing move, the same one that she used during our most recent encounter with Team Rocket, and it heals her up. Shoot, I totally forgot she had that ability! I'd have to find some way around that... I cast Woosh, hoping for a good hit. But it does just as good as Crack, to my disappointment. Looks like casting Crack was my best bet, since Woosh costed more magic.

"Hmm..." Allison thinks for a moment. "This seems a little tough... Ooh! I know! Chloe, use Fairy Wind!"

Chloe focuses her power for a moment, then releases it towards me. I put my arms up to guard, but it turns out I didn't need to. The attack barely does anything to me. Looked like it wasn't very effective...

"Oh..." Allison gulped.

I decided to change tactics. If I kept using magical attacks, I'd run out of energy sooner or later. So I decided to go in for a basic attack. But she barely even flinches. Looked like I had a choice: Either go for broke and cast magic, or slash her over and over and slowly chip away at her stamina. Actually, wait! I had Falcon Slash at my disposal. So I dashed at her again, and slashed twice quickly. Nice! Now I had an idea on what to do. Just a few more Falcon Slashes and-

"Life Dew, again!"

Chloe quickly heals herself, and heals most of the wounds I gave her. This was a real problem. She could heal herself, and I couldn't, not to mention I had a limit to how much I could use magic attacks. So if I was gonna take her out, I would need to take her out in one hit by amplifying my magic somehow... but how? I realized amplifying my magic would also take up more energy, so I pulled a Leppa Berry from my bag and ate it to restore my magic.

"C'mon, Chloe!" Allison rallies. "You've got this! Take him out!"

Chloe gets pumped up by Allison's cheers, and she walks towards me, which was kind of disconcerting. If she was pumped up already, wouldn't she attack me by now? To my surprise, she even walks past me.

"What're you doing, Chloe?!" Allison yells at her.

"Well, looks like I w- GAH!" Chloe had landed an attack from behind. It was so surprising I didn't have time to react.

"How's that?" She says slyly. "What did you think of that Fake Out?"

"Fake Out?" Allison repeats. "Did you just learn a new move?" Chloe nods in response. "Alright, then! Follow up with a Quick Attack!"

Chloe jumps backward quite a long distance, then she charges at me for a Quick Attack. I was still smarting from the surprise attack, and I couldn't react. Only when her attack landed did I come to my senses.

If I was gonna one-hit her, I'd have to use a spell. I prepare a Frizz... then stop. How was this going to work? I shake off my thoughts and throw the fireball at Chloe, and it connects. But she retaliates and lands a Quick Attack. I grab her and throw her in such a way she lands directly in front of Allison. I quickly jump away backwards.

I decided it was all or nothing. I prepare another Frizz... and focus more magic into it. I raise my hand slightly higher. The fireball begins to shine... and then it splits into two, intertwined fireballs!

"What's that?" Chloe gasps.

"Did he improve his Frizz spell?" Allison asks. It was crystal-clear to me. It wasn't just a new spell. The Frizz turned into something different.

"Seems like it," I respond. "Alright, then! Have a taste of my magical might! FRIZZLE!"

I sweep my arm horizontally, and the fireballs go flying. They're so fast Chloe doesn't have time to react as the fireballs connect and trigger an explosion that hides her from our sight. When the dust settles, Chloe's down but not out.

"Chloe!" Allison shrieks.

"C-can't... go on," Chloe chokes. "That's... some power...!"

"Use Life Dew!"

But she doesn't use the healing move. She's just been hit by a brutal fire spell, and she's too stunned to do anything. This was my chance! I run in there, clenching my sword as hard as I could... and dealt the final blow. And just like that, Chloe was unable to battle. YES! I won! And with a new spell, to boot!

"Ch-Chloe?" Allison stammers in shock.

"I-I'm fine," Chloe stutters. "D-Don't w-worry about m-me."

"You guys fought well," I say. "Thanks for the fight! That was awesome! Here you go, Chloe." I give her some Sitrus Berries to replenish her strength and pet her.

"Well," Allison replies, "We may have lost. But at least Chloe learned a new move, just like you did!"

"Heh. Good for you, kiddo. Okay, I'll go find Ash and the others, and then we'll keep going."

* * *

The one in which David learns an upgraded version of Frizz, and David wins his first friendly battle.

FYI, I made a mistake in the previous chapter. Chloe's healing move is supposed to be Life Dew, not Heal Pulse. I'll fix that later.


	18. Protecting the Innocent

After getting Ash and the others, we packed up the tents, and hit the road once more. Of course, we were still headed towards Kogeta Town.

"So," Ash asks me, "What did you do?"

"Well," I respond, "I just trained with Allison and Chloe. Chloe ended up learning Fake Out, and I learned a new spell."

"A new spell?! Awesome! What spell is it?"

"It's called Frizzle. It's basically Frizz, but stronger."

"And it's stronger than even double the strength of a Frizz," Chloe adds. "When I took that fire spell to the face, it really did a number on me."

"Hold on," Rotom interrupts. "How did you learn that new spell, anyway?"

"How?" I repeat. "Well, I just focused more magic into a Frizz, which turned it into a Frizzle."

"Then you could possibly do the same for your Crack and Woosh spells!"

"Oh, yeah!" Allison agrees. "That makes sense!"

I smirk. "Well, maybe. But I'm not gonna do it now- I don't wanna waste my magic. Maybe 'til we get to Kogeta Town."

I ask Ash what he and the others were doing, and he says they trained together. They didn't learn any new moves, but they just got stronger. It made me realize not just training's fun, but it's even better when you're doing it with friends.

Suddenly another headache ripples throughout my head, and I almost instantly fall on my knees. This one's even stronger now...! I end up looking at the Nature Badge on my shirt, and the headache grows yet stronger. Was the badge linked to this? Ash and the others gathered around me, saying something, but I couldn't hear them. Suddenly, I heard a voice...

"Remember..." The voice said. I felt like we were telepathically linked, so I tried to communicate.

"Who are you?" I asked in my mind. I felt like that was sufficient.

"Who...? You must... remember who you are... You are... my..." The voice faded out. Were we cut off? I tried to re-link us, but it was no use. Finally, the headache subsided, and I regained my hearing. Turns out everyone was yelling my name.

"Get up!" Liana cried.

"Ugh..." I splutter. "I... I'm fine. It's passed..."

"Why do you keep having these reactions?" Susie asks.

"I... don't know. But I think I'm starting to understand why."

"Why?"

"I haven't told you this before, but I've lost my memories. I think these headaches are a a part of remembering."

"You've lost your memories?" Lynn repeats.

"Do you think you can control those headaches?" Rotom asks.

"I don't think so. But maybe it's being controlled by someone else. I heard a voice. It told me to... remember... who I was? Something along those lines."

"That's strange," Aaron says. "Who in the world would trigger headaches on you? And why would they want to remember who you were?"

"It's just a theory. I'm not entirely sure. Anyway, let's move on!"

Everyone agrees, and we get going again. It seemed as if Kogeta Town was nearby. If I had to guess, we've been walking for two hours in total, counting our departure from Grama and our packing up the tents. Eventually, we reached a clearing, and we stood upon a cliff looking out to the horizon.

It was beautiful. The view consisted of the forest stretched out before us, but Kogeta Town was also in view. Small mountains and hills were also here and there. And the spectacular scenery was topped off by a gentle breeze. The same breeze, as I remembered, the one I felt at the Grama Wild Area. Just as the first one, it wafted my hair and clothes in the air, and brought the strange sense of familiarity.

"Look, guys!" Ash exclaims. "Kogeta Town's in sight!"

"Well, of course," I reply. "I already knew that."

"How long until we reach Kogeta Town?" Liana asks Rotom.

"Calculating..." Rotom beeps. "Calculating... at our current pace, it will take around fifteen minutes!"

"Nice!" She happily cheers. "Let's keep this pace up!"

But suddenly, without any warning, the ground underneath me crumbles, and I plunge towards the bottom! It hadn't occurred to me that I was standing near the edge until that deadly moment. Everyone gasps in surprise as I vanish from their sight. But I was lucky enough to have a good-sized, deep pond at my crash site, because otherwise I'd break every bone in my body. With a loud splash, I hit the water, resurface, and stumble out of the pond.

But as soon as I got out, I heard screaming getting louder and louder from behind me. When I turn around, I see Liana frantically flailing her arms and inevitably splash into the pond as well. She quickly emerges, but she keeps splashing in a state of panic.

"HELP ME, DAVID!" She shrieked. "I CAN'T SWIM!"

Without a word, I sprang into action and jump back into the pond as she began to sink. I swim as fast as I can in order to reach her. Thankfully, I managed to get to her without losing too much air. I swung her around to let her cling onto my back, then I began to swim back to firm ground. She uncontrollably gasps and wheezes as I climb out again.

"You alright, kiddo?" I ask.

"*cough* Y-Yeah..." She chokes. "I-I'm *wheeze* fine... *cough* Th-Thanks!"

"Why did you even fall after me, anyway?"

"When the ground crumbled, I fell, too. It was an accident."

After that close call, I had to figure out how to get back to everyone else. Climbing the wall was a no-no, since diving into that pond made us all wet, and we couldn't climb in that condition. That meant taking the high road, a phrase which here means "Doing it the hard way." Then again, I had to consider the fact that they wanted to reach Kogeta Town, so I decided to go there. But how could I do that when I had no idea where to go?

"Then we don't have a choice," Liana replies. "We'll need to wander aimlessly, despite how stupid that sounds."

"Yeah," I agree. "That's our only option." So we did just that. Passing several trees and the occasional Pokemon with Liana on my shoulders, we tried to make our way towards Kogeta Town. But no matter how long we walked, we never made it. That's when it hit me. It felt like we were going AWAY from Kogeta Town rather than towards it. So I turned around, but I eventually hit a river, and we both realized...

"We're lost," Liana says dreadfully. "This is awful. How did we get into this mess?"

"Maybe luck wasn't smiling upon us this time," I reply.

"T-That's not a good thing!"

"I know that..." Now what do we do? We're hopelessly lost with no idea what direction to go in order to reach Kogeta Town. If worst came to worst, we'd have to attempt surviving out here in the wild. And without our tents, since Allison had them. Talk about insult to injury... I was still mulling over what to do when I heard a crash somewhere in the woods.

"Did you hear that?" I ask Liana.

"I did," She says. Intrigued, we marched towards the source of the sound. Eventually, we reached a clearing, and we saw... a fight? There were two Pokemon. One of them looked like a large, brown bipedal stag beetle, and the other looked like a four-armed, grey-skinned boxer, or at least, that's what I thought.

"Liana, do you know those Pokemon?" I ask.

"Uh, let's see here," She thinks for a bit. "That one with the pincers is Pinsir, a Bug type. And the four-armed one is Machamp, a Fighting type. I don't know exactly what traits they have... You should ask Rotom for that."

Looking around a little more, I saw a bunch of smaller Pokemon. Liana explained that they were a Cutiefly, a Bug and Fairy-type, a Phantump, a Grass and Ghost-type, and a Goomy, a Dragon-type.

"They look scared. Why's that? And why're Machamp and Pinsir fighting?"

"Maybe we should lay low and watch." So we did. Their fight went on quite a while. It looked like it would be a close match Until finally, Pinsir managed to knock Machamp off to the side, then set its sights on the three weaker Pokemon. Out of nowhere, it uses Hyper Beam on the trio, sending them flying! Liana gasps in horror.

"I get it! Machamp's trying to protect those three from Pinsir!"

"Are you sure?"

"There's no denying it. I'm gonna help out!"

"Right! Me too!" Liana and I jump out of our cover. I launch a Frizzle at Pinsir and command Liana to unleash Inky Jolt on it. Our combo attack does great damage to Pinsir! Good thing Pinsir is weak to fire, or I don't think we would have done much, judging by how beefy it looked. We land in front of Machamp.

"Machamp?!" Machamp exclaims. Wait, Machamp's a Pokemon. So why couldn't I understand it with Liana nearby? Well, I could think about that later. Now, I had to deal with Pinsir and stop it from hurting the three Pokemon behind us any further.

"Talk later," I answer. "Beat Pinsir first." Machamp nods, then it steps in front of us. Charging at Pinsir, it uses Fire Punch for a super-effective hit! Nice, two super-effective hits in a row!

"Nice one, Machamp!" Liana cheers. "Let's keep this up!"

But we couldn't, because Pinsir was making its move. It charged at Liana and used a super-effective Brick Break in her face! Liana hits the dirt as soon as the attack lands. But it wasn't giving an inch! It quickly turned to me and hit me with a full-force X-Scissor! Yeesh. This Pinsir was tough!

"L-Liana!" I stammer. "Are you alright?!"

"N-No..." She coughs. "I just took a super-effective hit to the face..." Wait, she was weak to Fighting-type moves? That wasn't good. Looks like I had to try and protect her from that Brick Break. Machamp looks around us frantically, then back to Pinsir in rage. It runs at Pinsir and lands a Revenge. Even though it wasn't even hit, it looked like it did more damage. Did it deal more damage from seeing us wounded? Pinsir smarted from the attack, then it glared at us. It started to run around us. Was it trying to reach the other Pokemon behind us?

"No!" I yell. "Not on my watch! Frizzle!" But I was too late. As soon as I threw the fireballs, Pinsir picked up Phantump and threw it at the spell! It triggers an explosion that sends Phantump flying, and it faints when it his the floor. Of all the...! What a dirty trick!

"You coward!" Liana shrieks. "Using them as a shield, huh?!"

I could tell Pinsir wanted to smirk, but couldn't with that mouth. It stands in front of Cutiefly and Goomy and fires a Hyper Beam at Machamp! Machamp skids from the impact, and it falls on its knees. In just one move, Machamp's worn out. Pinsir must be strong...! If only we could attack... But that jerk was planning on using Cutiefly and Goomy as shields for itself.

"Cutiefly! Goomy! Run, now!" I yell. Instantly, the two start running away, but Pinsir's too fast for them. It dashes to them and hits them both with a Headbutt. Seriously?! This Pokemon's out of its mind! How in the world can we beat it?!

"Milcery! Use Fairy Wind!"

A magical wind blows from behind Pinsir and damages it. Who did that? I quickly found out, though: It was Ash! Everyone else, too! Ash had commanded his Milcery to use Fairy Wind on Pinsir.

"Ash!" I happily say. "You made it!"

"You should thank Wesley for helping us find you," Susie says.

"Sure, but we gotta beat Pinsir first. Okay, Liana! Iron Chop!"

Liana opens her hand, and it turns to iron. She swings it down onto Pinsir's head. In fact, she swings so hard that Pinsir falls flat on its face, leaving an opening.

"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash commands. "David, you should use Frizzle, too!"

"Got it!" I agree. Jumping in sync with Pikachu, I prepare my fire spell, and throw it as soon as Pikachu releases a bolt of electricity at Pinsir. The attack is strong enough to trigger an explosion that sends Pinsir "blasting off" the way we usually do to Team Rocket.

"Nice job, guys! We won!" Liana cheers. Before long, we had Cutiefly, Phantump, and Goomy healed up, as well as Machamp.

"It's a good thing we ran into you," I say. "Otherwise Pinsir would've beaten you and then had those three under its control."

"And it's lucky Wesley found you," Robert says. "Maybe we never would have found you."

"Really? How? I never saw him."

"He just went off in a particular direction, looking for you. Then we were led to him when he saw you."

"Oh, okay. Thanks, Wesley."

"Alright, now where do we go to Kogeta Town?" Chloe asked.

Machamp stood up, getting our attention. It pointed to its left. Was that the way?

"That's where Kogeta Town is?" I ask Machamp. It nods as a response. But before I could go, it stuck one of its hands towards me. Smiling, I shake hands with Machamp as a way of friendship. We waved goodbye to the four Pokemon as we marched towards the next destination of our adventure.

* * *

The one in which David protects a group of Pokemon from a treacherous Pinsir with the help of a Machamp.

I think I'm starting to get writer's block, which is why I'm taking a while to post chapters.


	19. Missing in Action

After walking for a long, long time, we finally reached Kogeta Town, the midpoint of our journey to Floji. At this point, it was already sunset.

"There it is!" Aaron exclaims. "Kogeta Town!"

"Took us more than fifteen minutes, due to that detour," Rotom notes.

"Why does it look a lot less impressive than Grama, though?" I ask.

"Maybe it's because there's no theme revolving around it," Ash suggests. "After all, I can't think of any history that went down in Kogeta Town." I look at the brochure detailing Terelm. He was right. I couldn't find anything about Kogeta Town. I think these towns were built after the Terelmian War, thus making it not worth mentioning.

"So what do we do now? There's no gym here."

"Why don't we take a break at the Pokemon Center? That fight with Pinsir left you pretty beaten up." That was a pretty good idea. If we immediately hit the road again, my condition would be troublesome. After asking around a little for the Pokemon Center's location, we went there and walked straight up to the front desk.

"Welcome to the Pokemon Center," A pink-haired lady greets us.

"Hey, Nurse Joy," Ash replies. "Could you heal our Pokemon?"

"Nurse Joy?" I ask.

"She's the one who runs the Pokemon Center."

"Yes," she agrees. "We're dedicated to helping you with your every need. You'd like to heal your Pokemon, right? Then please put your Poke Balls here." She puts out a hexagonal container with slots for us to put our Poke Balls in them. Allison, Robert, and Lynn return their Hybrimon to their Hybri Balls, then put them in the container. I decide to follow suit and return Liana and Wesley as Ash puts Milcery's Poke Ball in the container. A pink Pokemon comes from the next room and takes the container, then goes back. Pikachu, who did not like going in its Poke Ball, was prepared to be transported to the same room with a gurney.

"Who's that Pokemon?" I ask Rotom.

"Clefable," Rotom answers. "The fairy Pokemon. A Fairy type. These unique creatures are among the rarest Pokemon in the world."

"I see. Nurse Joy, do you think you can get me healed too?"

"Oh, my! What happened to you?" She pointed to my wounds and bruises.

"I got in a fight with a Pinsir. But I held it off until my friends helped me."

"I'm sorry, but our healing service only works on Pokemon and Hybrimon. However, I think a good night's rest will help you."

"Rest? But this is a Pokemon Center, not a hotel."

"Not to worry! Most Pokemon Centers offer free lodging, so you can take a rest here whenever you want." Talk about convenient. The builders of this place must have been prepared for most, if not all situations. Now that I think about it, after my first encounter with Team Rocket, I ended up in a Pokemon Center and woke up to find out that my wounds were healed. So maybe the same thing applied here.

"So why don't we go get a room already?" I suggest.

"I think you're getting ahead of yourself," Lynn says. "We should wait until we get our Pokemon and Hybrimon back." And then right on cue, I heard a familiar growling sound.

"And maybe get some lunch, too," Ash adds. He sure does get hungry quickly. I guess that's what you call a "bottomless pit for a stomach?" But maybe I shouldn't talk either, because I was pretty hungry, too. We went to a nearby counter and put in some orders for some sandwiches. Not the best, but not the worst, either. After a few minutes, we ate as we waited for Pikachu and everyone else to be healed.

Before long, it was nighttime. And Pikachu and the gang were restored. Thanking Nurse Joy, I take Liana and Wesley's Hybri Balls and send them out. Allison, Robert, and Lynn do the same.

"Okay, I'm wiped out," I yawn. "Should we go grab ourselves a room?" Everyone else agrees. According to Nurse Joy, there were some rooms available on the second floor. We wouldn't all fit in one room, so I got a room with Ash, Wesley, Robert, and Aaron. Liana, Allison, Chloe, Lynn, and Susie were sharing a room, too.

"So what do you think we should do tomorrow?" I ask Ash.

"Maybe we'll look around Kogeta Town a little more," He answers me. "Most of the time, when I was traveling, there was something I could do in each town or city."

"Well, that seems interesting," Wesley says. "I wonder what'll happen tomorrow."

"Maybe there'll be some sort of competition?" Pikachu suggests.

"I hope so, buddy," Ash agrees. "That would be awesome."

Since none of us had anything better to do, we decided to hit the sack. For some reason, this slumber was different. Probably only because I was beaten up a little bit. I thought my wounds were healing as I felt this blissful sensation. But even so, the feeling of foreboding danger crept up on me in my dreams. I swear, the first days (or week?) I spent here in this world all had my senses going haywire. Was I paranoid about something?

Suddenly, the stinging impact of something striking my face jolted me awake. Turned out Pikachu was whipping me with its tail in order to force me to get up.

"What was that for?!" I scream at Pikachu.

"Sorry," Pikachu apologizes. "But you were still asleep when we were getting ready to go."

When Pikachu said that, I looked out the window, and it was something like ten o' clock. I think that was some flaw I had- I always woke up late. The next thing I did was look at my body. And my hunch I had yesterday was correct. My wounds were all healed, which definitely meant sleeping had some special effect on me in this world.

Remembering what Pikachu told me, I got out of bed, and prepared for the day. I put my clothes on and brushed my teeth, then I was ready to get going. The five of us left the room, and we waited outside the girls' room until they came out. But something was wrong. They were taking an oddly long time. Knowing the girls, they'd be up and kicking already. So what's the holdup?

"Hey, guys," Robert says timidly. "Is it just me, or does it feel like they're taking way too long?"

"You're right," I agree. "You'd think by now they'd already come out."

"Should we go in there?" Wesley asks.

"What?!" Aaron says in shock. "Heck no! The last time I did that, I... well, I'm not gonna tell you, but it was nasty! All I'll say is that I was chased out of there. They were really mad at me after that fiasco..."

"Settle down, Aaron," Robert reassures him. "I don't think they'd deliberately take this long. Maybe they're not doing that anymore."

I had no idea what the heck they were talking about, but I decided to push past that and opened the door, despite their bickering. And I got a shock as soon as I did. When I opened the door all the way, there was... nobody?

"Where are they?!" I scream. "I thought they were here!"

"Did they leave already?" Ash suggests.

"No way," Robert says. "The girls have never left me when I was adventuring with them. Knowing them, there's no way they'd ditch us."

"Then were they kidnapped?" Rotom asks. Now that was terrifying. We could rule out the possibility that they abandoned us on a whim, but the possibility that they were taken away was horrifyingly plausible. But who would do such a thing?

"We can worry about who did it later," Wesley says. "We gotta save everyone!"

All of us nod in agreement, and we race downstairs to the entrance of the Pokemon Center. We considered asking Nurse Joy, but she was oddly absent. In her place was a male employee, and when we asked him about the situation, he said he had no idea on the matter. So we had to find them ourselves. But having no idea where to go was an inconvenience, to say the least.

"Where should we go?" I ask.

"Rotom can fly, right?" Wesley replies. "Then Rotom and I can scour Kogeta Town by flying around."

"You sure? The culprits might get you, too. Who knows what they're capable of."

"I'll be fine. I doubt they can get me."

I was a little skeptical, but I decided to let him do his thing. After all, Liana was the closest one to him, and I didn't want to stop him from finding his little sister. I mean, I even promised him I'd help him find her if they got separated again back in Grama Town.

"I think we should split up," Aaron suggests.

"Great idea!" Robert agrees. "We'll cover more ground that way. This should be our rallying point. Got it?"

We approve the idea, and we take off in different directions. Since I had no leads, my only choice was to wander aimlessly. I remember crossing a bridge, passing a mall, and finally reaching a huge park. None of those places seemed like good areas to hold someone hostage. Where could I go?

"Are you sure we're in the right direction?" A girl's voice asked. Who was that?

"I told you, I have no idea where Hop is," A boy's voice replied. Two people came into view: A boy with a gray beanie and red shirt, and a girl with a green beret and gray jacket. They both looked very worried. Did they need help? I decided to answer that myself and go over to them.

"Hey!" I hollered at them. "Is something wrong?"

"Uh-oh!" The boy yelped. "We've got company! Go, Grookey! Use Magical Leaf!"

"C'mon out, Sobble! Use Water Pulse!"

The two of them send out a Pokemon each in a state of panic. One of them looked like a green monkey, while the other looked like a blue frog. The two of them quickly unleash their moves, and I roll away in time to avoid the attacks.

"Woah, woah!" I scream. "I'm not here to fight!"

"Yeah?!" The girl countered. "Then where's Hop?!"

"Hold it, Gloria!" The boy exclaims. "I don't think he's a Team Noir grunt. Look at his clothes. That's not their uniform."

"Oh, yeah. You're right." After the two of them calm down, I decide to get to the point.

"I'm David," I introduce myself. "I'm looking for my kidnapped friends."

"Looking for your friends?" The girl repeats. "Then you're just like us!" What a coincidence. So they were looking for someone, too? This was certainly starting to seem a little fishy. If we weren't the only ones affected, then certainly the police would be on the case, right?

"Let's introduce ourselves too," The boy suggests. "I'm Victor. And this is my cousin, Gloria. Have you seen anyone with blue hair with a cyan, fluffy jacket?" I shook my head. They explained they were looking for their friend named "Hop," which I thought was a pretty weird name. I gave them a description of my missing friends too, but they also had no clue where they were. How would these kidnappings happen in just one night, and how would nobody know where they went?

"Wait," I said. "You thought I was a Team Noir grunt, right? Why?"

"We think Team Noir's behind this," Gloria admits.

"Truth is, we've had a lot of run-ins with them," Victor says.

"Then you know how annoying they are," I said. "I'm actually quite lucky not to have run into them so often, but they're quite the menace. But getting back on point, if our friends were kidnapped, then they've gotta be held somewhere..."

"True. But where?"

The three of us ponder this for a while. No particular area sprang to mind. Wandering around seemed to be kind of useless, anyway. I considered asking around to get leads, but I ruled it out, since nobody seemed concerned about this, and even the police weren't working on this. What could we do? But then, the luckiest of lucky breaks happened. I heard something from behind me, and it was none other than Wesley and Rotom, calling my name to get my attention. Rotom immediately noticed Grookey and Sobble, and read their entries.

"Grookey," Rotom recites. "The chimp Pokemon. A Grass type. When it uses its special stick to strike up a beat, the sound waves produced carry revitalizing energy to the plants and flowers in the area. Then, there's Sobble. The water lizard Pokemon. A Water type. When scared, this Pokemon cries. Its tears pack the chemical punch of 100 onions, and attackers won't be able to resist weeping."

"That's nice, Rotom. So what did you find?" I ask them.

"We found an abandoned storeroom," Wesley informs us.

"And we think that Liana and the others are being held there!" Rotom exclaims. Now that was one vital piece of info! I had the feeling I could count on them, as I thought both of them were quite skilled at searching from the air.

"You two should go and let everyone else know," I tell them. "I don't think we can take them on by ourselves. We'll meet at the Pokemon Center!"

"Roger!" Both of them say simultaneously, and they fly off.

"We should get going too," Victor says.

"But where's the Pokemon Center?" Gloria asks.

"...Oh no! I just realized! We're lost!"

"Seriously? You're just like Leon. You're utterly useless when it comes to directions..."

"I can help," I volunteer. "I just so happen to know a trick to fast transportation. But I need the two of you to get closer. Okay? Good. Zoom!"

The spell instantly transports us to the Pokemon Center, and Victor and Gloria stare in disbelief as they process what just happened.

"...How did you do that?!" Gloria asks incredulously.

"Believe it or not," I proudly announce, "I have the power to fight on my own. I know a plethora of spells, and the one I just used on us is Zoom. It transports me and nearby people to places I've been before."

"Well, that's something you don't see every day!"

"Zoom, huh?" Victor repeats. "Kind of a weird name, but that's incredibly convenient. Wish I knew that spell."

Now that we were at the Pokemon Center, we had to wait for Ash and the others to return to us. With the guidance of Wesley and Rotom, they got there in no time. I introduced Victor and Gloria to them, and they introduced themselves in turn.

"So, where was that abandoned storeroom again?" I ask Wesley and Rotom.

"Follow us," Rotom promptly says, and it takes off with Wesley tailing it. After running after them for a long time, we arrived at an abandoned storeroom, true to their word.

"You know," Ash says, "It's possible that it's actually Team Rocket is doing this. Or even worse, maybe Team Rocket and Team Noir have joined forces..."

"How do you know that?" I ask him.

"Whenever I chased Team Rocket down for stealing my Pokemon, I often caught them in some sort of abandoned area, kind of like this storeroom."

"But why would those two jerkface teams work together?"

"...I dunno. I think my imagination's going wild."

After shoving that worst-case scenario off to the side, I peered through the wide, open door, but I couldn't get a good view of things. There was this huge crate blocking most of my vision.

"Well," I sigh, "If I try to peek any further, I bet I'm gonna get busted. So, got any bright ideas, guys?"

"I've got an idea," Rotom says. "See that window?" It pointed at a shattered window way above us. "I'll go up there and see if anyone's guarding them."

"Great idea, Rotom!" Ash cheers. "That way, we'll know what to do. Alright, hit it!"

Rotom flies up and peeks through the window it mentioned earlier. After a while, it goes back down to us.

"So what did you see?" I ask.

"Sure enough, the girls are there and tied up," Rotom says. "There's also someone else in a blue jacket, but nobody else is there."

"'Blue jacket...?'" Victor mutters. "That's Hop!"

"Who in the world would tie them up?" Gloria asks.

"Doesn't matter," Ash says. "All that matters now is rescuing them. Let's go, guys!"

Before I could say anything, Ash took off, and the rest of us were forced to follow him. This seemed pretty fishy to me, but it didn't take long for us to reach our friends.

"It's Ash!" Allison gasps.

"David and the others, too!" Liana adds.

"Victor! Gloria!" Hop says. It didn't take a genius that he was the one in the blue jacket.

"You guys alright?" Wesley asks. "Sorry we were late, but we're here to-" But he doesn't even get to finish his sentence. He's interrupted by a loud, slamming noise behind us, which is followed by a bunch of terrible snickers. When we turn around, the storeroom's door was locked shut, and Team Noir had appeared.

"You're here to rescue them?" Robin finishes for Wesley.

"Nah," Nick says mockingly. "I don't think so. Oliver?"

Oliver, who had not said anything yet, pulls a remote from his pocket, and quickly pushes a button on it. I was able to process what happened in time, and I jump out of the way as a giant cage slams down, trapping everyone else.

"No!" I yell. I furiously turn back to Team Noir. "You monsters! What do you plan on doing with them?!"

"That's for us to know," Oliver replies, "And for you to never find out. Go, Sneasel!"

The brutes follow suit and send out their Pokemon as well. Looks like I'd have to fight on my own... Or at least, until I Metal Slashed that cage. I tried my best to think of a strategy. Sneasel was a Dark and Ice type, so maybe Frizzling it would be a good choice. I charge my magical power and prepare to attack. But Robin's too quick for me. It orders Nickit to hit me with a Quick Attack, and it connects. It doesn't do much, but it stops me from charging any further.

I decide to try again. I begin charging another Frizzle, but I charge at Nickit. Robin calls another Quick Attack, but reading out its moves gives me the upper hand. I jump up in time to avoid the attack, then launch the fireballs at Sneasel. A super-effective hit! Sneasel's stamina is quickly blown away as it hits the floor. But it hasn't fainted yet.

"You're a cheeky one," Oliver mocks me. "But we're even cheekier. Sneasel! Screech!"

Sneasel lets out an unpleasant sound. It's so bloodcurdling it takes me off-guard. In fact, I'm so surprised I don't even see a Scratch from Nick's Stunky coming. It does more damage due to my defense being dropped. I had to do something quick! If I tried to fight alone any longer, I'd get wiped out. I set my sights on the cage. If I Metal Slashed it, then my friends would be set free. Without a second thought, I dash at it.

"What's that loser doing?" Robin asks to nobody in particular.

"I dunno," Nick says. "But more importantly, why's he running towards the cage?"

"You'll see why!" I yell. "Metal Slash!"

The two-handed swing splits the cage open, letting Ash and the others out. Turns out I didn't need to slash at the ropes that were binding the girls and Hop, because Ash and everyone else had already untied them. Everyone quickly jumps out.

"Since when could he do that?!" Oliver screams.

"That's for us to know," I repeat snarkily, "And for you to never find out! You guys alright?"

"We're fine," Gloria says. "Now let's wipe them out! Come out, Sobble!"

"You too, Grookey!" Victor cheers. The duo sends out their Pokemon in order to support me.

"Let me help you out," Hop says. "Now, Wooloo! Lend us a hand!" When Hop sends out his Pokemon, all I see is something like a sheep with its woolly coat closely shaped like a ball. Rotom jumps in and reads its entry.

"Wooloo," Rotom says. "The sheep Pokemon. A Normal type. Its curly fleece is such an effective cushion that this Pokemon could fall off a cliff and stand right back up at the bottom, unharmed." If it could survive that, then it could be a total tank! And when I say "tank," I mean "Something that could shield its allies for a long period of time."

"All our work, wasted!" Robin screams angrily. "But we can take it back! Nickit, use Beat Up on Wooloo!"

Nickit charges at Wooloo and lands an attack. The attack alone barely does anything, but Nickit rallies its teammates, and Stunky and Sneasel charge in to deal extra damage. But even after their combo, it probably wouldn't have made a difference.

"That does nothing, dude," Nick says. "So we'll just have to turn it up a notch! Use Poison Gas, Stunky!"

Stunky turns around and releases a noxious fume from its tail. Before we could dodge, it smothers us all and we inhale it, which poisons us. They got pretty lucky, poisoning all of us at once. But even worse was when I pulled a Pecha Berry from my bag to heal myself, and Weavile quickly jumped me and took it away, then ate it. Shoot, that was my only Pecha Berry! These guys had a decent strategy, that's for sure.

This turned into a pretty sticky situation. Would we finish them off before the poison wiped us out? The only way to find out would be to fight. Remembering that Sneasel is weak to my Frizz spell, I throw another Frizz at it in an attempt to finish it off. But by some miracle (At least for them), Sneasel survived! How could that be?! I could also feel the toxins chipping away at my stamina. Talk about insult to injury...

"We've got your back!" Victor exclaims. "Use Magical Leaf, Grookey!"

Grookey, after concentrating its power, fires leaves made of pure energy at Sneasel. It probably wasn't very effective, but it got the job done, as Sneasel fainted. Gloria commands Sobble to use Water Pulse on Stunky. But when it hits... Stunky starts acting weird. Was something wrong with it?

"Water Pulse has the potential to confuse the opponent," Rotom explains. If Stunky was under confusion, then that would be something we could exploit. I hoped it would stop attacking us, or it would attack itself, or even better, it would attack Nickit. But I guess that last possibility was a little too-over-the-top, since Rotom explained that Pokemon, when they are confused, either attack their target or themselves. And I saw firsthand that that was true, since Stunky somehow hurt itself in its confusion.

But what snapped me out of those thoughts were that I was still poisoned. The toxins kept flowing through my veins, which I knew would slowly knock me out. I quickly turned to Ash in desperation, and he immediately saw the look in my eye. Nodding, he pulls a Pecha Berry out of his bag, and he throws it at me. I eat it midair, and swallow it as soon as I could to squelch that poison. I signaled to my other allies, and their trainers also use the same kind of berry to heal their Pokemon.

Now that we got that out of the way, I had to think hard. What were Nickit and Stunky weak to...? Entering a thinking stance, I try to conjure a plan to pull the floor out from under our foes. I ask Rotom what I should do, and it said we should use Ground-type moves on Stunky... but I remind it that we didn't have that kind of moves at our disposal. Then it suggested to use Fighting or Fairy-type moves on Nickit. I didn't know any "Fairy-type" spells, but I could think of something close to a Fighting-type move.

Sticking my sword in the floor, I rush at Nickit as quickly as I could. When I start to get uncomfortably close, I hop and kick it in the face. Then as I rebound, I kick it again. I suppose I replicated the Double Kick move closely enough, as Nickit seemed to take considerable damage. I land near my sword, which I pull out of the ground.

"Woah! That was awesome, David!" Ash cheers.

"Don't count us out yet!" Nick says. "Stunky, Poison Gas again!"

But it doesn't go the way Nick expects it to. Instead, Stunky, who is too confused for its own good, turns around towards them and unleashes its poisoning move on its trainer and his friends.

"Dr-Drat!" Robin coughs. "Nothing's going r-right for u-us today! I-I'm beginning to th-think this p-plan was a waste of t-time!"

"And what a waste of time it is," I say. "See ya! Woosh!"

I cast the spell and put a little more gusto into it, which is enough to send Team Noir flying. In fact, they fly so fast they crash right through the storeroom door, and they eventually fly away from sight. I had to say, sending bad guys blasting off was turning into something like a pastime.

Later, it was sunset. And it was at this point Victor, Gloria, and Hop were about to go on their way.

"Thanks so much, guys," Hop thanks us. "We were in a real jam."

"And we couldn't have saved Hop without your help," Gloria says.

"It's the other way around," I correct her. "I don't think I could have rescued the girls if I didn't have you by my side."

"Let's meet again sometime, yeah?" Victor says, giving me his hand. "And let's have a battle later, too!"

Shaking hands, the crew and I see the trio off. For some reason, I felt like I've seen them before... But that didn't matter. Our journey here in Kogeta was beginning, and this would be just the start of it.

* * *

The one in which David meets the Sword and Shield protagonists, Victor and Gloria, as well as their buddy, Hop.

You'll notice the names for the Team Noir trio are different. That's because I grew unsatisfied with their original names, so I changed them to Robin, Nick, and Oliver. Also, Oliver's Pokemon is supposed to be Sneasel, not Weavile. But otherwise, its moveset has remained unchanged.


	20. A New Possibility

Suddenly, the stinging impact of something striking my face jolted me awake. Turned out Pikachu was whipping me with its tail in order to force me to get up.

"What was that for?!" I scream at Pikachu.

"Pika," Pikachu says. "Pika-pika, pikachu-pika. Pika, pikachu-pika?"

It occurred to me that this has happened twice. The last time Pikachu did that, it was before we rescued the girls and a trainer named Hop, who was friends with two other trainers, Victor and Gloria, from the clutches of Team Noir.

I think Pikachu was saying something along the lines of, "Sorry. But you were still asleep, and it's almost noon. Really, why do you keep waking up so late?" Although I could be wrong. Taking Pikachu's (potential) words into account, I looked out the window, and I could see it really was almost noon. I suddenly realized that nobody was in the room except for Pikachu and I. Ash, Robert, or even Wesley weren't there, which is why I couldn't understand Pikachu.

"P-Pikachu," I stammer. "D-Did everyone g-get...?"

"Pika," Pikachu reassures me. "Pikachu-pika. Pika-pi pikachu."

"Um, hold on. 'Relax, everyone's fine. Ash and everyone else are at the lobby...?' Is that right?" Unlike our Hybrimon friends, I honestly had no idea what Pikachu was saying. When they were nearby, I could outright hear certain Pokemon speak English (for some reason), but whenever they weren't, I had to guess what they were saying, which was exactly what I was doing. "You sure, little guy?"

"Pika! Pikachu!" Without another word, Pikachu went to the door. I thought it was telling me to come with it. I changed into my clothes and brushed my teeth, then got ready to leave the room. Pikachu jumped onto my shoulder as we went to the Pokemon Center's lobby. Ash and everyone else were gathered around a table, chatting. When I approached their table, they noticed me, and Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder.

"Hey, David!" Ash says. "Mornin'!"

"Good morning, guys," I say sheepishly. "Sorry I got up late. I think that's becoming a habit..."

"Sheesh," Liana says. "I think it is already!"

"Heh... Well, you could at least be a little gentler. I don't think slapping me in the face's such a good idea, Pikachu..."

"Yeah, I know," Pikachu says, and thank goodness I could understand it now, due to a Hybrimon's presence. "But I guess I didn't have much of a choice. You see, I tried every way I knew in order to wake you up, but I ended up resorting to slapping you with my tail."

My friends burst out laughing, and I couldn't help but chuckle a little. We ended up having small talk. Spending time with friends... I liked that a lot. No, I loved it. I don't think I've ever had friends before in the life I couldn't remember, back when I was in my world. But my world didn't matter to me anymore. This world was a whole lot better!

But the thought made me think on it a little more. If my world, as I thought, was some totally boring place, then why would I have the ability to cast magic? It was something I loved having at my disposal, but it made me worry a little, too. Another thing was that I had to hide the fact of being someone from another world from my friends. I didn't like that. If the truth got out, they might see me as a kind of alien and throw me out... Given that they've seen my abilities, I wouldn't be surprised if they had that reaction if I was exposed.

"Hey, David?" Liana says, tugging at my shirt's sleeve. "You're spacing out. Something wrong?"

"Huh?!" I blurt. "Oh! N-Nah. I'm totally fine. Heh... Yeah."

"Honestly, you're acting kind of suspiciously..." Oh no! She was onto me! I had to stop her somehow... Come on, David, think! What could I do to stop her from going any further than that...?

"Why would I be suspicious? After all, I'm a magic-user like nobody else. I couldn't get any more suspicious than that."

"Well, I think you have a point." Phew. That was close. Good job, me... Hopefully she wouldn't ask that again. After that close call, the crew and I decided to set out. But something stopped us, and not in the bad way. When we left the Pokemon Center, we saw none other than Professor Camphor.

"Ash! David!" She called out to us. "Hey there!"

"Professor Camphor! Hi!" Ash called back. There was no need for introductions, as our other friends were already familiar with her, but they never met her in person. When she asked us about our travels, we recapped everything that happened so far on our travels.

"So, now both of you got your Nature Badges, huh?" Camphor says. "Congrats!"

"Thanks," Ash and I say simultaneously.

"I wanna show you all something, too. Could you come with me?"

"Alright!" All of us reply. We all started following Camphor. She explained that she was taking us to the Kogeta Town Laboratory, one of the many Pokemon Laboratories in Terelm. Supposedly Camphor went to the one here at Kogeta Town when she went on her business trip, back when Ash and I were still at Grama. When we entered, she took us to her office.

"You see," She began, "My coworkers and I have been working to find out what's the cause behind that sudden surge of power throughout Terelm. David, you remember that I told you I thought it had something to do with you. Right?"

"Yeah," I say. I remember it like it was yesterday.

"It's just a hypothesis, but we think you're from another world." I gasped. She knew about that, too?! ...Wait, actually, she said it's just a hypothesis. So why am I freaking out about that? She wasn't there yet.

"In addition," She continued, "We've speculated that the surge of power is, in fact, your magical energy. Do you think that's right?" Let's see... If I play my cards right, I might be able to shift suspicion off of myself. What could I do...?

"Well... I can't say for sure. After all, I've lost my memories, so I can't really prove that I'm from another world, or if that surge of power was my magic. All I know is that I fell out of the sky in Grama for whatever reason, and I awakened to my powers there." It pained me to lie that I didn't know if I came from another world, because I really did know. But if it would stop my friends from pushing me away, it would all be worth it.

"There's something we'd like to confirm. We'd like to match the readings of the power surge with your magic. To do that, we must have a battle. Would you like that?" Now there was something I could find out for myself, too. Unlike where I'm from, I didn't know if I previously had powers before my arrival in this world. I enthusiastically agreed, and she guided us to an indoor battlefield.

"This room is equipped with devices that can read the energy signals from a Pokemon's attacks. I think it'll work with your magical power, too. Shall we, then?" Camphor was smiling, much to my surprise.

"YOU'RE gonna battle me?" I pointed at her. "I thought I was gonna battle Ash or someone else..."

"Is something wrong with that?"

"No, not really. Just a little surprised."

After that, Camphor and I took our positions on the battlefield. Of course, I stepped up, since I was basically obligated to contribute to Camphor's hypothesis. Camphor brought out a Poke Ball and sent out the Pokemon inside, which looked something like a black, quadrupedal stone golem, with orange crystals on its body.

"Gigalith," Rotom says. "The compressed Pokemon. A Rock type. Gigalith's attacks, using the compressed energy from its core, are powerful enough to destroy a mountain." Geez! A lot of the Pokemon I've encountered have abilities that would be equal to superhuman strength...! But this is a friendly battle, so I didn't need to feel so alarmed. I drew my sword, and pointed it at Gigalith.

"Ready?" Camphor asks me.

"Ready!" I reply. I decide to open up with a basic attack. But when my sword connects, Gigalith doesn't even flinch, and my sword bounces off of its rock-hard body. Rotom informed me that Gigalith is resistant to Normal-type moves, so I decide to use a spell instead. I try casting Frizzle. The spell does better damage, but otherwise it was just as useless as my normal attack. Turned out Gigalith was also resistant to Fire-type moves as well.

"Gigalith! Use Rock Slide!" Camphor commands.

Gigalith summons a bunch of rocks and hurls them at me. I get hit by them without having time to dodge. I'm pretty sure that move would take out a normal human, but I barely took any damage from that. I think that was a result of me battling. Perhaps it built up my endurance and stamina? That was pretty odd. Surely I couldn't have gotten so strong in a dozen or so battles.

But I'm so wrapped up in my thoughts that I don't even get a chance to avoid a Headbutt from Gigalith. If I was gonna win this, I'd need to exploit its weakness. Gigalith is a Rock-type, so my Frizzle and Woosh spells would be resisted. Crack would work normally. None of my spells would be super effective, so I had to improvise a new move. Suddenly I had an idea.

The battlefield around me was made of earth. And Gigalith is weak to Ground-type moves. I only hoped this would work... I plunged my sword into the ground and quickly pulled out a chunk of the earth, kind of the way you'd use a shovel to dig. I swing my sword to fling the dirty chunk at Gigalith, and it connects. A super-effective hit!

"What a move!" Ash gasps.

"I don't think a Pokemon knows a move like that!" Rotom notes.

"That's great and all," Camphor says. "But remember why you're here. We're getting samples from your magic, right?"

"Oh, yeah," I realized. "Right."

Considering that I've already given a sample of my Frizzle, I quickly cast Crack and Woosh in quick succession. Crack does some decent damage, but Woosh barely makes it flinch due to it being resistant to Flying-type moves. Camphor smirks as she prepares to counterattack.

"Now use Headbutt!"

Gigalith charges at me and hits me in the chest headfirst. I go flying and land hard. But I'm not down and out yet! I charge my power in order to cast Crack twice in a row. I keep up the momentum with a Frizzle. I know it wouldn't be very effective, but it was a pretty solid spell.

"Wow!" Camphor says in wonder. "You're pretty strong!"

"And that strength'll make me win!" I add. I charge at Gigalith for an attack. Camphor calls a Rock Slide, but I dodge the storm of rocks and hit it with a Falcon Slash. Then I rebound, and prepare to cast a spell.

"This is it! The spell that takes the fight!"

I snap my fingers in order to cast it... but it doesn't work. The spell fizzles out and dies. Did I seriously drain myself that quickly...? And just when I was about to take the match, too!

"I think that's good enough," Camphor says, clapping. "You did great, David. So did you, Gigalith. Return!" Camphor returns Gigalith to its Poke Ball. "That was a fantastic battle. Surely this will help us out a lot."

"Well, I'm glad to help out." But suddenly, someone rushes through the door, out of breath.

"Professor Camphor!" He says. "We've got an update on the surge of power!"

"Huh?!" Camphor gasps. "Take us to the analyzing room!"

After going to the "analyzing room," the guy who ran into the battle room, which, as Camphor explained, was his assistant, showed us footage of a camera on a computer. The computer showed Camphor and I having our battle. Camphor's assistant skipped ahead to when I was about to cast the spell. The apps showed... orange rings shrinking into my body?

"What is this?" I asked, totally bewildered.

"Those orange rings are your magic," Camphor explained. "It appeared to be flowing into you when you were going to use a spell, but couldn't."

"So... every time I learn a new spell, some of that stuff merges with me?"

"That should be the case."

"So what spell is it?" Ash asked. "Every single spell that you have is beyond awesome!"

"Uh..." I stutter. "For some reason, I don't know. I don't know until I cast it for the first time..."

"Why, though?"

"Dunno. Guess that's how it is."

"Well, David," Camphor says, turning to me, "Thanks for your time. We'll analyze the magic signals you gave in our battle right away. When we figure something out, you'll be the first to know."

The crew and I left the laboratory, waving Camphor goodbye. Robert looked at me.

"So..." He began. "Your magic's been lost?"

"I don't know for sure," I reply. "After all, I've lost my memories, and I can't figure out if I had magic powers to begin with."

"Well, maybe... But just in case, I think we should help you regain what you've lost."

"You mean training? But where can we do that?"

"I think I know the place."

* * *

The one in which David and Camphor have a battle in the name of science.

I'm sorry if this one's pretty late, but overall I've had a lack of motivation.


	21. What I Fear

"So, what is this place?" I ask.

"Somewhere in Route GF," Robert responds. "You know when you took a tumble with Liana and wound up fighting that Pinsir? We tried to find a detour to get to you, and we found this place where a lot of Pokemon gather. Maybe it'll be a good spot to train."

"Why are we here, though?" Lynn sighs. "I thought David was the only one who needed training."

"It's fine, don't worry about it. Besides, who's to say you won't get snatched by Team Noir again?"

"Robert!"

"Haha, I'm just kidding. There's no way they'd come back after David sent them flying with that Woosh."

"Rotom, what Pokemon live here?" Ash asks.

"These do," Rotom replies. It shows us images of some Pokemon. One of them catches Allison's eye right away.

"That one?!" Allison exclaims in excitement. "That one lives here?!"

"I can't believe it!" Chloe agrees. "This could be our chance!"

"Wh-What?" I stammer, still surprised at their sudden energy. "What Pokemon are you talking about?"

"You probably don't know which one this is. So, Rotom? Could you read its entry for them?"

"Of course!" Rotom complies. "Ponyta. Galarian form. The unique horn Pokemon. A Psychic-type. This Pokemon will look into your eyes and read the contents of your heart. If it finds evil there, it promptly hides away."

"Galarian form?" I repeat.

"It's a regional variant," Ash tells me. "In some regions, a few Pokemon look different than they normally do. I've been to Alola, and there were Alolan-form Pokemon there. Although I've never been to Galar."

"Regional variant... So, what's the entry of the normal Ponyta?"

"Let's see..." Rotom beeps. "Ponyta. The fire horse Pokemon. A Fire-type. Its mane is made of intense flames. If you've been accepted by Ponyta, its mane is mysteriously no longer hot to the touch."

"So why are you so excited about catching a Galarian Ponyta?" I ask Allison.

"Because it's the first Pokemon Chloe and I wanted to catch!" Allison answers.

"It was just too adorable to ignore," Chloe adds.

"So, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Why don't we help them out?" Wesley says. All of us agree, and we split up. I remember looking around some bushes, a grove of trees, and even a hole. Maybe I was trying a little too hard, what with looking in that hole and all.

"Turns out they're not so easy to find," I mutter when we regroup. "I thought we could find it like any other Pokemon..."

"Ponyta are a little rare," Rotom agrees. "The chance of finding one in this area is 11 percent."

"How do you know that?"

"...Haven't you asked that before? You know the answer."

"W-Well, yeah... But where do we search?"

"Let's keep looking," Ash says. "Surely there's at least one Ponyta!"

We decide to resume our search, but we don't split up this time. It made me wonder, though. How did this training session meant for me turn into a Pokemon hunt? Perhaps anything can happen when you've got friends...

"Wesley, think you can search from the air?" I ask him.

"Sure," He agrees. "Wanna come with, Liana?"

"Okay, big bro!" Liana says. She and Wesley take to the skies.

"Those two are basically inseparable," Susie says. "They must have a pretty strong bond."

"Well, I guess that's natural," I say. "I'm not saying I remember having any brothers or sisters, but I think that's supposed to be."

"Speaking of your memories..." Robert pipes up. "Are you any closer to remembering anything?"

"No... Actually, maybe. I keep getting headaches every once in a while. I think they're related."

"But how would they be related? And why?"

"That's what I'd like to know. Maybe if I remember, I-"

"We've got trouble!" Wesley says, coming back.

"Trouble?" Lynn repeats. "Something wrong?"

"We found a Ponyta," Liana says. "But it's in trouble!"

"What?!" Allison gasped. "Take us there right away!"

"Of course! This way!"

Wesley and Liana fly off again, this time with us tailing them. They take us to a clearing in the forest, and we see...

"Oh, come on! Not these guys again!" Chloe says, exasperated. "Team Noir!"

"How are you here?!" I yelled at them. "I sent you flying the other day!"

"True that," Robin says. "But your spells were so weak, they weren't even enough to send us to Grama Town."

"Did you just call me weak?!"

"Yeah, you heard him," Oliver taunts me. "Whatcha gonna do about it, weakling?"

"Forget that," Ash says, stepping forward. "More importantly, where's Ponyta?!"

"Ponyta? You mean this thing?" The three of them step aside, revealing a very wounded Ponyta. It looked like it wanted to run away, but Team Noir had mainly attacked its legs, stopping its escape.

"We wanted to capture it," Nick explains. "But it's so weak, it's probably better to off it rather than recruit it."

"Off it?!" I screamed. "You're out of your-! Now you're asking for it!" I quickly drew my sword. "If anyone deserves to be offed, it's you!"

"What are you saying?!" Liana gasps.

"What?! Don't tell me that you're thinking they're doing something right!"

"Of course not! But they don't deserve a taste of their own medicine! Are you dropping to their level?!"

"Well, I don't care about that! C'MERE!"

"DAVID! NO!"

I charged forward and blocked out her cries. I didn't care. These guys crossed the line. I wasn't going to have any of it! If I don't put a stop to them, who will?! I get to Nick in no time and swing at him. He quickly dodges, but I still manage get a small cut on his hand. Oliver tries to send out Sneasel, but I rush at him and punch him in the face to stop him. Robin jumps me from behind, but I quickly dodge and watch as he faceplants, then I stomp on him.

"David!" Ash cried, grabbing at my shirt and pulling me away. "That's enough! You don't need to attack them! Just send them flying, and that'll be all!"

"Send them flying?!" I repeat. "Why I oughta... You know what? That's actually a good idea." I was still enraged. I shove Ash away to free myself. Remembering my fight with Camphor, I grab a Leppa Berry from my bag, and eat it to restore my magic. I turn to the villains and prepare to cast the spell I was gonna cast earlier.

"Get out of my sight. BANG!"

I snap my fingers, and the area around Team Noir explodes. The force is strong enough to send them blasting off. It probably won't be strong enough to send them flying a distance enough to keep them away for a few days, but it'll have to do.

"Good riddance..." I seethe.

"David..." Liana stammers, frightened. "D-Did you just...?"

"Yeah," I say. "I tried to beat 'em up. Deal with it, kid." Liana flinches and hides behind Wesley.

"What about Ponyta?" Robert asks. When I looked, Chloe was already using Life Dew on it, and it was soon back on its feet. It looked at me with a profound expression.

"What's up?" I asked, still mad. "Something wrong?"

Ponyta suddenly perked up, and it hid behind Chloe. I remembered what Rotom said about it earlier. It could look into my eyes and detect if there was any evil in my heart...?

"Judging by Ponyta's reaction," Rotom says, "It seems that there's a bit of evil within you."

"E-Evil?" I repeat. Now I was afraid. Looking at their perspective, an alien would definitely be evil to them. And given the sight they just saw, I... I...

"David?" Ash says, putting a hand on my shoulder. "You alright?"

"I blew it..." I whisper. "I've lost everything dear to me..."

"Huh?"

"You don't accept me anymore, don't you?! I can't stay with you anymore!" I run off. I knew I couldn't let them see me. Not after they saw who I really am. I've become the thing that I've feared the most...

...I'm alone.

* * *

The one in which David loses it and goes berserk on Team Noir.

I know the Pokemon anime is supposed to be kid-friendly, but when you cross it with a game like Dragon Quest, you've gotta have a touch more mature content. But, I will NOT do anything too graphic, and I NEVER will.


	22. Close Call

I dashed through the woods as fast as I could. I had no idea where I was going, but that didn't matter, considering I had Zoom at my disposal, and I could go back to Kogeta Town if I wanted.

Ash and my friends had seen through my facade, and now I was running away from them. I couldn't let them see me. Not after what they just saw a few moments ago. It's amazing how quickly things could happen in about half a minute.

"I... I think I should be safe..." I gasped. "Those guys must be pretty far away by now..."

I stopped and sat down on a nearby rock, and took off the sheath wrapped around my torso. This weapon... It wasn't right for me to have it. In this world, nobody fights- their Pokemon do. But me? I'm an exception. And it's wrong for me to not be like them.

"This ability isn't something good... It's a stupid curse!"

With that, I threw the sheath away as far as I could, sword included. I didn't want it anymore. Being in another world... I took it for granted. Now I know the horrors of being somewhere you don't belong. I wish I was still in my home world, even though I didn't remember what it was like. Maybe there I'd be accepted by some real friends...

Thinking of friends made me take my Hybri Balls out of my pocket.

"Liana... Wesley... I'm sorry. But I can't be your trainer anymore..."

I put them down, gently this time, close to the rock I was sitting on, then got up and left. I would've preferred to keep Liana and Wesley around, but I couldn't afford to let them see me again. I eventually reached a clearing, kind of identical to the one where I teamed up with a Machamp to stop a Pinsir from harming three innocent Pokemon.

"I need to make sure I lose this ability to fight... permanently. Hopefully this will do it."

I took the few Leppa Berries I had out of my bag, and threw them away. Afterward, I used every last ounce of magic I had to cast Frizzle, which hit the floor. It left some flames on the ground, but I quickly stamped them out before they could spread.

Now I was like everyone else in this world. I couldn't fight. It was time for me to move on. Alone.

To be honest, being alone was horrifying. It's scary to know that you've got to do everything by yourself, and with nobody to care. But I have to face reality. There's really nothing I could do about it. I turned to leave. But a voice cuts through the air:

"Gourgeist! Use Shadow Ball!"

Turning around quickly, I was able to catch a Shadow Ball darting towards me, but I didn't have time to avoid it, and was launched. When I hit the floor, I saw the other group of villains I hated: Team Rocket.

"Oh, c'mon!" I screamed. "Now that's just cowardly! Attacking me knowing I'm alone and unarmed, huh?!"

"Prepare for trouble, this will be a breeze," Jessie begins.

"And make it double, as for you, it'll be like a tease!"

"To protect the world from devastation..."

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love..."

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"And James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare for one outnumbered fight!"

"Meow, that's right!" Meowth finishes.

These guys knew how to bend their motto quickly, I had to say that. But that was trivial. What mattered now was the situation at hand. I got up, knowing what I would say would surprise them.

"You don't need to mess with me anymore, got it?" I say.

"I don't think you're the one who decides that," Jessie counters.

"Right," James agrees. "You're friends with the twerp, which makes you a twerp just like him."

"Not anymore."

"Did you not hear me, twerp?!" Jessie angrily says. "I said-" But I cut her off.

"I'm not friends with Ash anymore. And that doesn't make us enemies any longer. I'm tired of being the odd one out in this world... Got it? So I don't care about you anymore. You're none of my business."

I walk off. There's no way they wouldn't mess with me anymore after I told them I wasn't Ash's friend. After all, he's the one they hold a grudge against. Or at least, that's what I took from their behavior. Right?

Well, wrong. Something hit me in the back of my head, and it deployed a forcefield, trapping me. It didn't hurt me when I touched its borders, but I couldn't get past that. Damn...! I should have known those crooks would pull something like that!

"Are you braindead?! I thought you'd ignore those who weren't friends with Ash!"

"You forget, twerp," Meowth says, "Team Rocket is a team who conducts glorious evil. And not being friends with the twerp doesn't make you safe from us. If anyone's braindead here, it's you!"

"Me?! Braindead?! Why I oughta..."

But before I could get any further, something comes out of nowhere and hits Team Rocket. A vine...? Wait, then that means... That's right! I know exactly who's coming! Chespin lands right in front of me, and its friends do as well. Scorbunny and Oshawott destroy the forcefield trapping me with a Double Kick and a Water Gun.

"Chespin! Pin-chespin?" Chespin asks.

"Sorry, Chespin," I say regrettably. "But Liana or Wesley aren't around. I can't understand you."

"Pichu! Pi-pichu!" Pichu turns to me with a fire in its eyes. I understood at once that they wanted to battle. All the more reason to blend in with the people in this world! I smirk as I get ready to call out some moves.

"Alright, Scorbunny! Use Ember!"

Scorbunny focuses, then spits a fireball out of its mouth. A super effective hit! I decide to keep it up, and command Chespin to use Rollout. Its attack connects and sends Gourgeist flying, and crashes into Jessie.

"How dare you?!" Jessie screams. "Back me up here, James!"

"Right," James replies. "Come out, Mareanie!"

James sends out Mareanie, and calls out a Sludge Bomb. Scorbunny quickly moves in and takes the attack for everyone else. But Team Rocket wasn't finished yet. Scorbunny takes a Shadow Ball to the face, courtesy of Jessie's Gourgeist, which looked like it hurt a whole lot more than Mareanie's attack!

"You alright, Scorbunny?!" I gasp. But Scorbunny turns to me with confidence. Phew. Hopefully Scorbunny would last a few more hits... Without thinking, I run in there and get ready to attack. But when I reach for my sword, all I grab is air, and I skid to a halt. Shoot! I threw my sword away! I should have known that would be really reckless! I'm so wrapped in my thoughts I don't have time to avoid a Dark Pulse from Gourgeist, and I was knocked down.

"Ch-Cheaters!" I stammer. "Attacking an unarmed opponent, huh?!"

"In our book, cheating is considered fair play," Jessie taunts me.

"Well, we'll see what real fair play is! Get 'em, guys!"

The four Pokemon I was commanding rush in and attack. In fact, they attack so hard they kick up a cloud of dust that hid them from my sight. They're using Co-op de Grâce...? How do they know that move?! I thought that was my signature attack!

When the dust settles, Gourgeist and Mareanie appear to be weakened, which I thought gave us our chance to flee.

"Now, everyone!" I yelled. "Let's get outta here!"

"Not so fast, twerp," Jessie says. "Mimikyu! Go!"

"You too, Inkay!" Jessie adds.

Both of them send out their other Pokemon, blocking our way. Shoot! This was bad! Now they've got us surrounded... What could I do? At this rate, we'd be captured... And I can't let that happen! I open my mouth to call out an attack and-

"Milcery, use Fairy Wind!"

A fairy wind blows out of nowhere and damages the enemy Pokemon. When I turned to look, I saw Ash and his Milcery, along with the rest of the gang. They followed me?! ...Well, I am thankful for the help, but-

"David, here! Use this!" Ash throws my sheath, and I catch it.

"It's my..." I begin. I was conflicted, but I quickly changed my mind. My life's on the line here! "Thanks. I need some Leppa Berries, too!"

"Then here!" Ash throws two Leppa Berries from his bag, and I catch them in my mouth. Now I was ready to fight! I open up by casting Woosh, and I damage Team Rocket's Pokemon by a good amount. Gourgeist and Mareanie look like they're about to collapse, but Mimikyu and Inkay were still raring to go.

"We'll take care of them!" Allison says. "Ponyta, use Confusion!"

The Ponyta that Allison was trying to catch earlier unleashes some telekinetic force that damages Mimikyu but does nothing to Inkay. Allison then commands Ponyta to use Fairy Wind, which deals a super-effective hit on Inkay.

"Take 'em out, David!"

"Alright, then! Begone! Bang!"

I snap my fingers to trigger an explosion, which launches Team Rocket with a synchronized "We're blasting off again!" After they vanished from my sight, I turned to everyone else.

"Thanks, guys. I would have been dead meat if you hadn't intervened."

"You're welcome, David," Ash says. "But... about earlier... Why did you say you didn't belong with us anymore?"

...I really hoped he wouldn't get to that. But I guess that's what I get for having a little slip-up back there. He hasn't figured it all out yet, though. But he knows I have something to hide. So I'll have to resort to saying...

"I can't tell you," I finally say. "I'm sure we all know that I've got something to hide, but I can't tell you."

"Why not? Aren't friends supposed to not hide anything from each other?"

"I get that. But if I told you the truth, then... Well, in short, it's best if I don't tell you. Sometimes, there are things you're better off not knowing."

"So it's like a touchy subject?" Allison says. "Then that's alright. We won't pry."

"Huh? Allison, why're you-?" Ash begins, but Allison cuts him off.

"Ash, if he doesn't want to talk about it, then let's not."

Phew. I was glad Allison was defending me. Otherwise I'd end up all alone... And I definitely didn't want that. I wanted to give Allison a thumbs-up, but I decided not to, because I figured that would attract attention. Instead, I chose to quickly end this:

"Let's just forget this ever happened, alright?"

* * *

The one in which David calms down and manages to keep his secret, despite his friends slowly catching on.

If you ask me, that last part was the toughest one to write, not only because I had writer's block, but also because I was thinking of every possible outcome it could go, and I finally chose this one.


	23. A Corner of Memories

That night, me and the guys decided to hit the hay at the Pokemon Center. I had just changed into my pajamas when...

"Hey, David?" Ash says. "Sorry I asked you about... y'know."

"It's fine," I respond. "Let's just not talk about it, okay? Allison's right, it is kind of a touchy subject."

"Yeah, you're right. Let's get ready for the next day, alright?"

"Uh-huh. I'm sure we'll-" But I don't get any further than that. I was interrupted by yet another headache, stronger than ever before. It was strong enough to instantly get me down on my knees, and I clutched my head in pain. Everyone crowded around me, trying to say something, but I couldn't hear them. A voice spoke to me...

"_Remember who you are,_" the voice says. Again? It said this a few times before... But why?

"_Who are you?!_" I said in my mind. "_Stop giving me these migraines!_"

"_Who am I...? You must remember who you are. You... are my..._"

"_I'm your what now?!_"

Normally, at this point, the voice would fade out, and it did, but that wasn't all. I think I fell unconscious. When I came to, I didn't find myself in the Pokemon Center. Rather, I found myself in a grassy plain. The voice spoke to me again, but I felt this time I didn't need to telepathically communicate.

"Ah... I see you've been able to keep in touch with me," the voice says.

"Keep in touch? What do you mean?"

"I was unable to stay connected to you for a while, but it seems that you have been able to hang onto me."

"Well, I guess... But tell me, who are you? Answer me!"

"I am..." But the voice suddenly grew distorted, and I was unable to hear their answer. It finally went back to normal, but not after they were done with their answer. "Did you hear that, David?"

"Uh... Y-Yeah, but tell me... What do you want with me? You keep telling me to remember who I am."

"This is a world of your own lost memories. I have attempted to bring you here several times so your memories could be restored. Surely this will help you recover your memories."

"Then... what should I do?"

A bright light envelops me. I felt the sensation of relief as the light surrounded me... and a sense of familiarity, too. I could hear echoed voices, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. Unbeknownst to me, I slowly closed my eyes. But I soon woke up to a voice calling my name. When I looked around, I was now leaning against a tree on a small cliff, which looked out to a town with a castle.

"Hey, David!" the voice hollered. I looked to my left, and I saw a guy running towards me. A gray undershirt with a blue t-shirt and blonde hair were the most notable features he had. "I've been lookin' for you!"

"Looking for me?" I repeat. "What for?"

"Oh, c'mon, David! Surely you haven't forgotten. It's time for us to go see the king!"

"K-King?!" That was... a bit much, to say the least! Since when did my memories involve a king? In fact, I didn't even know who he was, but he seemed to know me. "On another point... Who're you?"

"Ha-ha, David, very funny. There's no way you'd forget your own-" His voice quickly grew distorted, just like how the voice grew distorted back at the grassy plain, but went back to normal. "But in case you've 'forgotten,' my name's Cory. Alright, now we've wasted enough time here. Let's get goin'!"

I had no idea what Cory was on about, but he urged me to follow him anyway. After all, if this was the key to remembering my past life, then I was all for it. I followed him, and we walked into the town.

"What the heck is this place?" I ask.

"Wow, you're really playing the amnesiac game here," Cory jokes. "Well then, I'll play along with your little game. This is Legitopia. Your hometown, and mine, too. But I think that's enough. Let's go see the king!"

This was probably urgent business anyway, so I rushed along with Cory into the castle. As soon as we got to the castle gates, some guards stopped us.

"Welcome, David and Cory," one of the guards greet us.

"I assume you're here for the Knight's Exam?"

"Indeed we are," Cory replies. "We've got our pass and everything. Right, David?"

Cory pulls something like a ticket out of his pocket. But he implied that I had one too, so I reached into my pocket as well. I felt a ticket and pulled it out as well. Since when was that in my pocket? It feels like time has rewound...

The guards nodded, and moved out of our way. Cory took my hand and led me through the castle. We passed through a few hallways, and a few guards too, who seemed to know what we were here for. Eventually, we arrived at our destination... An arena? The audience cheered as we emerged, along with six other participants. They all looked like they were our age.

Then the king appeared. I thought we'd see him in a throne room or something, but no. It looked like he was hosting the event. He raised his hands to signal to quiet down. Afterward, he spoke.

"Citizens of Legitopia!" he began. "It is my honor, as King Archard, to announce the Knight's Exam is about to get under way! The eight youngsters you see here are striving to become the chosen knight to embark on a quest to defend our fair land from evil. Who will emerge victorious?!"

So this was a tournament? This was a little intimidating. I've never fought actual people before... Or at least, not yet. But I felt like this memory world was fulfilling its purpose quite well, as I felt the sense of familiarity throughout this whole thing. Afterward, the tournament began. I was easily able to take the first round, and the second round, too. Cory also advanced to the finals.

"And now, the final match is about to begin!" King Archard announced. "Coming from the west, we have David Herotis! He has aspired to become a knight since his childhood, and his dream is now within his reach! But will he defeat his opponent, coming from the east, Cory-?"

His voice quickly grew distorted, and I couldn't make out what he was saying. The heck? Why does everything get distorted around here? Just let me find out what you're saying, geez! Isn't this world supposed to make me remember something?

"Cory, like David, has also strove to become a fine warrior of Legitopia. The two of them have had a friendly rivalry due to their ambitions. But only one may emerge victorious! Who will win?!"

The crowd cheered as both of us approached each other. Cory had a serious look on his face. I could tell from King Archard's words that he wanted to become a knight of Legitopia, and he was about to take the whole tournament.

"Listen, dude," Cory smirked. "You've always beat me in our spars. But no more. All this training won't be for naught! I'll be the one who becomes Legitopia's hero!"

He seemed really pumped up. Of course, being a hero would mean a lot. But if my hunch was right... Then I'm pretty sure I would take this fight, no prob. I smirked back as I responded to his confidence.

"You can't be so sure of that," I say. "It's true you're pretty dang strong, but I'm definitely stronger than you. But I dunno... You might be able to overcome me and really become a knight. But we can't say for certain. What say we finish this, once and for all?"

Cory nodded, and we stepped back a few paces to take our positions. One of King Archard's servants prepared to strike a gong that would signal the fight. I drew my orange blade, and Cory reached behind him and pulled out two blue arrows, which he held like knives. That was a pretty clever way of using arrows, I had to give him that.

"Final battle, begin!"

Quicker than light, Cory dashes at me and lands a critical hit with his arrows. I immediately get knocked down, but I roll away just in time to avoid another attack. I quickly hit him with a Frizzle. But for some reason, I don't shoot two fireballs- rather, I just shoot one. Maybe in this memory world I only knew how to cast Frizz... But I can work around that. I attack him again while he's still smarting from the attack.

"Not bad," Cory says. "But I can't lose to you!"

Cory passes the arrow in his left hand to the other and reaches behind him to grab a bow strapped to his back. He loads both arrows in his hand into his bow and fires them before I had any time to avoid them.

I knew he was gonna bombard me with more and more arrows, so I had to do what I had to: Run. I dashed all around the arena, running so fast I think I could have ran on the walls if I wanted to. Not a single arrow hit me during my sprint, but they just kept right on coming! Does this guy have an endless quiver or something?!

"Got you right where I wanted you! Crash!"

Suddenly, the ground underneath me bursts, launching me and rendering me helpless when I hit the floor. Cory quickly puts his bow away and draws two more arrows from his quiver, which again he held like knives. He dashed at me like a madman. I had to improvise somehow...!

In a state of panic, I quickly cast Woosh on the floor. The small tornado gave me just enough lift to launch me upwards, and Cory runs into it, getting cut by the gale in the process. I stick the landing, and Cory does too.

"Amazing!" King Archard exclaims. "David and Cory aren't giving even a single inch! This certainly is a battle between strong youths!"

"Is that all you got, dude?" I mock Cory.

"No. But I've got a spell I've been saving for this. Heal!"

Cory raises his hand, causing a light to shine and flow into Cory's body. I could see that his wounds were starting to heal. This could be a problem... I had no way of healing myself. But if he could heal himself, then I just have to deal enough damage! And I knew exactly what to do. I cast Bang and deal more than enough damage to undo the effects of Cory's healing spell. But Cory doesn't give up. He charges in and lands a hit with his arrows, knocking me down again.

"...And stay down! Zam!"

Cory fires dark, bullet-like blobs at me to deal damage. It hits really hard, not to mention that I was also weak to Dark-type moves. I was starting to run out of stamina. If I took any more blows, then that would be it. I had to end this quickly! I roll back and start charging in again. I try to land a hit, but Cory's too quick for me. He dodges to the side and lands a kick on my chest.

If he's going to play that game, then I can play that, too. I run at him again and pretend to attack. Just as I expected, Cory attempts to dodge, but I had him on the ropes. I slashed horizontally, and I landed a critical hit, knocking him down.

"Halt!" King Archard exclaims. "That is enough. The battle is over."

"Already?" I ask.

"W-Wait," Cory stammers. "This c-can't be r-right."

"I believe we have a winner," King Archard announces. "The victor is David Herotis!"

* * *

The one in which David is sent to a world of his memories and defeats Cory in a sparring match.

Sorry this one took forever. I was debating whether I should do this or keep David in the Pokemon world.


	24. My Beginnings

"You have done well to emerge victorious," King Archard commends me.

At this moment, the Knight's Exam had come to an end. After His Majesty announced the final match to be over, I was taken to the throne room. Perhaps he was about to give me a mission?

"Thank you, Your Majesty," I reply. "Tell me, why did you call me?"

"As you well know, you have taken the top spot in the Knight's Exam. You will become a knight of Legitopia, and embark on a quest."

"A quest, Your Majesty?"

"Yes. But it will have to wait for tomorrow. For now, you are dismissed. Guards, please escort this young one out of the castle."

Two guards salute, and they guide me back to the entrance. I can't believe I'm a knight of Legitopia...! And I'm going on a quest?! These are some really awesome memories! Maybe I shouldn't have dismissed my world as utterly boring... Maybe this is where I got my powers. But I can't be sure just yet.

Now that I think about it, back at the Knight's Exam, Cory looked really distraught. He was so pumped on becoming a knight, and it all just vanished before his eyes. No doubt he would be upset about this. I decided to go home. Actually, I had no idea how I got there, but maybe being in a memory world just made me remember where I lived in Legitopia.

But when I opened the door, I couldn't find Cory anywhere. There was nobody there but me. What could have happened to him? I decided to ask around. But nobody had seen him. Even when I looked around myself, there wasn't even a trace of Cory.

By now it was getting late, and I had no choice but to go to bed. But my thoughts kept my tossing and turning. Where was he now? I couldn't help but worry about someone I didn't even know. I couldn't take it anymore. I finally got up, and then I saw it: A note, on the table.

"David," it read. "Congratulations on becoming a knight of Legitopia. You're probably going off on a quest, and that's really nice. But me? I have nothing. No friends, no dreams... not anymore. I'm through all that. I'm gonna take this into my hands and become a knight as well. And nothing's gonna stop me. Yours, Cory."

He really was dead set on becoming a knight, no matter what. But what he was doing was utterly foolish. I had to stop him. I rushed out of the house and ran to the town gates. There I found him. Cory was standing at the gates with his back turned to me.

"...Hey, David." Cory says. "Did you see my note?"

"Yeah, I did," I say. "But why are you-"

"Then I've got nothing more to say to you. See ya around, David..."

And at that, Cory abruptly leaves. I was too stunned to say anything. All I did was stand there at the gates, mouth gaping, watching him leave Legitopia, probably for good. Why did he leave like he said he would...?

I expected to wake up in the Pokemon world tomorrow, but nope. I was still in this memory world. I remembered what King Archard said yesterday, and today was my mission briefing. I hastily rushed to the castle and asked for permission to the throne room for my mission.

"Ah, young David," King Archard says. "I see you were able to arrive before I was able to send for you."

"Yeah, well, I couldn't wait for my mission," I reply.

"Haha, you're always so full of spirit. Very well, here is your mission. You are to go to the town of Arkano and investigate it. We've received reports that all its inhabitants have gone missing, as well as its king. You must find a reason for these sudden disappearances."

"Arkano?" I repeat. I had no idea such a town existed. But His Majesty continued with his speech.

"Of course, you are not to go to Arkano unprepared. You will surely encounter dangerous monsters on your journey. In light of that, we ask that you take these."

Some guards appear, carrying treasure chests. After they put them down before me, I open them up. I end up receiving an outfit that consisted of an iron helmet, yellow tunic, blue cape, black slacks, and leather boots. I also receive a sharp, new sword and a torch. Not to mention some gold for my travels! I had to say, the king certainly likes to prepare for anything.

"There is something I want to know before we see you off, David. Where is Cory? My men searched Legitopia for him high and low, but he was nowhere to be found."

"Well..." Then I stop. If I told His Majesty that Cory, who had not won the Knight's Exam, embarked on a journey, he would surely send his men to drag him back to Legitopia. And I wanted to support his motives for becoming a knight like me. I quickly come up with an alibi:

"I also looked around, but to no avail."

"I see... Well, that is truly unfortunate. But in any case, your quest will soon begin. May you have safe travels, young warrior!"

Later, I was ready to depart Legitopia and make for Arkano. Many citizens were smiling as they waved goodbye, and I waved back. I took my first steps out of Legitopia for real. And with those steps, it came to me: My journey in the Pokemon world wasn't my first. It was this one. This was my first-ever quest. I don't know how many adventures I had before I came to the Pokemon world. But it was clear to me that I was now taking two paths at once.

* * *

The one in which David recovers a vital memory. And he embarks on another quest, this time in his memory world!

I'm thinking David's time in the memory world might take around two more chapters. Then after that, it's back to the Pokemon world.


	25. New Companions

My quest had just begun, and I was on my way to Arkano. According to the map I received just before I left Legitopia, I had to navigate Legitopia Plains, which was where I was right now. Next was Resed Sands, a small desert. Then there was the Cryptic Woods, a dense forest filled with monsters. After that, there was Druca Plateau, a plateau with another dense forest. Finally, there was Arkano Field, where I would reach Arkano.

Resed Sands and Druca Plateau each had a town, so I made a mental note to rest there when I got the chance. But that's for later- I had to focus on the here and now, which was me wandering around Legitopia Plains. On my map, I fixed my gaze on the Legitopia region, trying to figure out where I could reach Resed Sands. But when I look up to check my location, something made me stop dead in my tracks.

Monsters.

There were monsters blocking the way. And it looked like they were drawing nearer. But... wait, do I know them...? It looked like I was up against three slimes and a dracky. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I could recall that these foes were easy to beat.

But before I was ready, the monsters suddenly attacked! I was left with a few bruises, but nothing I couldn't handle, right? I retaliate by slashing at the dracky because it seemed a little tougher than the slimes, but it managed to survive. The slimes charged at me again, but I was easily able to avoid their tackles. The dracky managed to bite me in the arm, but I was able to shake it off.

The dracky might be able to survive another basic attack, so I cast Frizz on it before it had any time to react, burning it to a crisp. Keeping up my momentum, I turn my attention to the slimes and wipe them out in one fell swoop. Phew... my first battle in the memory world was pretty unexpected, but whatever. I can keep going!

Pumped up, I charge on ahead. I had a few run-ins with more monsters, but I was able to survive. Barely, at that. I ended up encountering not just the weak slimes or drackies, but I also ran into some ghosts, which, lemme tell you, hit pretty dang hard. It made me wish I knew a Heal spell like Cory did. Thankfully, Resed Sands wasn't too far off, and I was even able to reach the town without taking any more damage by running away from fights.

The first thing I did when I got there was rest at the inn.

"Welcome to our inn, traveler," the innkeeper greeted me.

"Th-Thanks," I stammer. "Could I get a room...? How much?"

"Wow. Those monsters haven't treated you very nicely, to say the least. But a rest will surely heal your wounds. It's four gold coins. Is that alright?"

I gladly accept, and slept like a log. I couldn't really dream last night, probably because my real body's in the Pokemon world and I'm already dreaming. After all, I don't think something like dreamception exists. But I woke up to all the commotion going on outside. I hastily exited the inn to see what was going on.

"Somebody, help!" Someone screamed. It turned out all the citizens were running away from... a prestidigitator and two chimaeras?! I'm pretty sure I know the monsters in this world, but slimes and drackies are nothing compared to these! Even though they weren't gigantic, they still looked pretty daunting.

But even so, I had to fight! I couldn't sit by and watch as these monsters destroy Resed! I hastily find a route that would take me behind them, and I took it. As I approached, I slashed one of the chimaeras at the back.

But as soon as I did, the trio of monsters turn around to face me. Both of the chimaeras land a peck attack on my body. The prestidigitator follows up by casting Sizz on me. I was glad I was resistant to Fire-type moves, because I didn't take as much damage. I retaliate by Falcon Slashing the same chimaera. But they all unleash a deadly combo attack on me! I don't think I could take much more...

"Swoosh!"

A large tornado comes out of nowhere and slices into the enemies. When I turn to look, I see... a girl riding a pink slime? The heck? Aren't humans and monsters natural enemies? So why was this kid using a slime to fight?

"You alright, mister?" She called. "You can't fight these bad guys on your own!"

"Wh-what the?!" I gasp. "You gotta get outta here, kid! It's too dangerous!"

"I don't care! I can't let you get yourself killed! ...Hey, watch out!"

I turn around just in time to catch one of the chimaeras attacking, and I roll away to barely avoid the peck. I end up rolling next to the girl.

"You know what, let's talk later. We've gotta wipe 'em out!"

"Alright! But... yeesh! Those wounds don't look so good... Here. Heal!"

She emits a green aura, which flows into my wounds and heals them. Thanks, kid! I'm pretty sure I could fight now. I run at the prestidigitator to attack, but one of the chimaeras takes the attack in the prestidigitator's place. The kid backs me up by landing another attack on the same chimaera. But her physical attacks aren't so strong compared to mine...

The prestidigitator attacks both of us by casting Sizz again. I don't get hurt so much, but the kid takes the brunt of it. Both of the chimaeras split up to attack both of us at the same time. But I won't give up! I run at the chimaera that attacked me and used Falcon Slash on it. The kid casts Swoosh again to attack the chimaeras. It looked like we were getting somewhere!

"Hey, you're pretty strong!" I say.

"Not just me," The kid says. "Rosie's really tough, too, for a slime. Ready for your signature move, buddy?"

"With pleasure, Sapphy!" the slime responds. "Kerfrizz!"

The kid's slime spits three fireballs from its mouth. One of them hits one of the chimaeras, while two of them hits the other, weakening them severely. I took this chance to Flame Slash the weaker one, which killed it.

The prestidigitator, furious at losing one of its allies, ran at me in a rage. Before I could defend myself, I already took a critical hit to the face. The kid tried to cast Heal on me, but the remaining chimaera intercepted her and stopped her spell. Both of us were critically damaged now, and I was starting to feel desperate. I pat myself down to see if I had anything, then I felt something in my pocket.

Medicinal herbs? I don't remember buying something like that, or taking that from Legitopia before I left. But I guess I shouldn't complain, because having medicinal herbs right when I needed them was more than convenient.

"Here, kiddo! Catch!"

I lob a medicinal herb at the kid, and she manages to catch it in her mouth, which healed her. I took another medicinal herb and healed myself, too. Afterward, I turned to the chimaera and slashed at it, trying to take it down. The kid follows suit, and lands another attack. Not letting up, I attack it again, which finally eliminated it.

The prestidigitator frantically looked around, looking for anyone to protect it. It even tried to call for help, but nobody came. It looked at us with desperate eyes.

"You need proper punishment," I mock it.

"And we know just what to do," The kid continues.

Both of us rush the prestidigitator down and unleash a killer combo, causing it to scream in agony, and finally collapse and die. We high-five each other in celebration.

"You weren't bad at all, bucko," I say, ruffling the kid's hair. She giggles.

"I didn't do all the work, though!" She replies. "You helped a ton!"

"Oh, yeah. I never asked for your name, did I? I'm David, by the way."

"Huh? Oh! That's right. I'm Sapphy! And this is my slime friend, Rosie."

"Pleased to meet you, gooman!" Rosie says.

"Wait, what?" I blurted, dumbfounded. "This slime's talking?"

"Well, to my knowledge, some slimes can speak," Sapphy says. "Albeit with 'slimier' synonyms, if you will. Oh, but... look at us. This might require some healing..."

Sapphy casts Heal twice in order to get us back on our feet. The citizens, probably having been notified that the monsters were defeated, came out of their hiding places. They immediately came to us and praised us for saving them.

"Thanks, everyone! But I'm sorry I can't stay. I'm heading to Arkano!"

And with that, I take my leave and step out of Resed, heading towards the Cryptic Woods. From there I would reach Druca Plateau, and finally Arkano. It was kind of a shame I had to do this alone, though...

"Wait, David!"

When I turned around, I saw Sapphy and Rosie, standing outside the entrance to Resed. Was there something they wanted?

"What's up, Sapphy?" I ask.

"Could I... I mean, could we please come with you?"

"Hold on. As much as I'd like to take you under my wing, you're still a kid. Won't your parents be worried about you?"

"It's alright. They said I could come with you."

"I see... Then I'd be happy to let you tag along!"

Sapphy, Rosie and I set out for Druca Plateau, but the Cryptic Woods stood in our way first. But I'm glad I'm not alone in this memory world anymore. Knowing that I was never alone in my world...

...It made me... happy.

* * *

The one in which David defends Resed with the help of an unlikely duo, Sapphy and Rosie.

And with that, David has reexperienced all the memories he has to in Kogeta Town. In the next chapter, he'll return to the Pokemon world.


	26. Back to Reality

With Sapphy and Rosie in tow, we marched towards the Cryptic Woods. We defended Resed from a prestidigitator and its two chimaera minions. I glanced at her, and she caught my gaze. She responded by smiling back at me.

"Level with me, Sapphy," I said. "Is this your first time outta Resed?"

"Not really," Sapphy replied. "I usually go to Legitopia Plains to play with Rosie. But I do remember that one time when I went the wrong way and accidentally entering the Cryptic Woods. That's also where I met her!"

"Oh, really? That's kinda... interesting..." I suddenly felt totally drained. Why was that? I only woke up from a long slumber at the inn a few hours ago. So why was all my energy gone? I didn't have the strength to continue on, and I collapsed.

"W-Woah! David, are you alright?!" Sapphy yelped. "David, get up! David! David...!"

I couldn't hear her voice anymore, and I plunged into darkness. But the strangest thing was, as soon I closed my eyes, I felt like my eyelids forcefully opened on their own again. When my eyes were fully opened, I was no longer in Resed Sands, but rather, the Pokemon Center. Was I back in the Pokemon world? I get out of bed, which definitely meant I was in the Pokemon world. I wasn't on a bed when I collapsed in the memory world.

"David!" A voice calls. When I turn to look, I see Liana running at me and happily jumping into my arms. "You're awake!"

"H-Hey, kid," I said, still surprised. "Were you and the guys checking on me?"

"Yup. But now that you're awake, we can finally get going! Why don't you go see them? I'll be with you."

My friends were glad to see that I was up and about. They urged me to sit down at a table, as they wanted to discuss something, no doubt about my sudden collapse.

"So why were you acting out all of a sudden?" Robert asked. "You were just going wild."

"I dunno. It was like it happened on its own."

"And... what happened while you were conked out?" Ash adds. "Did you have any vision or something?"

"Well... Yeah. I remember hearing some voice, and it sent me to this... memory world..."

I stopped in my tracks. My memories from being in the memory world were still in my mind! That meant it truly served its purpose- some of my memories were finally restored, but not all of them. But it's a good start.

"Memory world?" Rotom repeated. "Are you implying the theory of worlds within people's mind are real?"

"Not particularly. I'm not entirely sure yet. But the voice I heard earlier told me that the memory world was designed to help me recover my memories. And yes, I did recover a few memories."

I share with them my experiences within the memory world, including how I emerged victorious in the Knight's Exam in Legitopia and how I was able to defend Resed from a group of monsters. And I tell them about Cory, Sapphy, and Rosie.

"But I don't remember hearing about places like those," Allison says. "And I don't think a Pokemon like Rosie exists. Are you really sure?"

"I do remember being in those places, but I can't remember where in the world they are." I reply. "For all I know, I could be from a whole new region... And maybe Rosie's some kinda rare Pokemon." I had to say, I was getting kind of good at hiding things except for that one slip-up. "But even if that's true, aren't we gonna go to Floji for our Gym battle?"

"Oh yeah!" Ash exclaims. "I'm gonna go there and win my Gym Badge right away!"

"And aren't we all gonna do that?" Lynn adds.

"So what are we waiting for? Let's go, everyone!"

"Alright!" The rest of us cheer. We leave the Pokemon Center, and wave goodbye to Kogeta Town. It was good to hit the trail again- I thought we'd start living there! But I felt relieved knowing we wouldn't.

Looking at my brochure, our next destination was Rifia Town, which was close to Floji. Plus, the forest we were about to enter was the last one, meaning we would soon see Floji. This would be a breeze! But of course, it's not like I wasn't expecting surprises... A little later after entering the forest, I heard rustling coming from a nearby bush.

"H-Hey! David!" Someone calls out to me. I turn my head towards the source, which turns out to be the very same bush I heard rustling from. Eventually, something emerges- a Chespin? That's the same one with Scorbunny, Oshawott, and Pichu! But why's it all alone?

"Something wrong?" Chloe asks. "You look pretty worried."

"Yeah... because we've got a problem! Pichu's in trouble!"

"Pichu?!" Ash repeats. "Where's Pichu? Show us!"

"C'mon! This way!"

Chespin takes through the bushes, and after running for a while, I see something horrible. No, not Team Rocket or Team Noir. There were two guys beating up on Pichu with the help of their Pokemon. Scorbunny and Oshawott couldn't do anything, due to them being gravely wounded.

"Chespin! You're back!" Scorbunny exclaims.

"But wait... Isn't that David?!" Oshawott gasps.

"Let's worry about that later," I interrupt them. "We've got a Pokemon to save. HEY, YOU! YEAH, I'M TALKING TO YOU THUGS!"

As soon as those words come out of my mouth, the corrupt duo turns around to face us. Both of them snicker cockily, just like those Team Noir jerks.

"Thugs?" One of the villains repeat. "I wouldn't describe us like that, y'know."

"Uh-huh," The other agrees. "More like... master Pokemon hunters!"

"Pokemon hunters?" I repeat.

"They're bad guys who catch Pokemon against their will," Ash explains. "Then they sell 'em off for money!" What?! That's probably... no, definitely even worse than those crimes Team Rocket and Team Noir commit!

"That's essentially slave-trading!" I scream. "I won't forgive you for this!"

"So you want a fight, huh? Well, we'd prefer not to fight... But we won't say no!"

Both of the villains position their Pokemon into a battle formation, while the Pokemon hunters form a wall around Pichu to stop us from being able to nab it from behind them. Rotom analyzes our enemies.

"Grubbin," Rotom says. "The larva Pokemon. A Bug-type. Grubbin scrapes trees with its large jaws and drinks their sap. It makes its home underground. Then there's Yungoos. The loitering Pokemon. A Normal-type. Yungoos have sturdy fangs and jaws, and they gain a certain tenacity and patience when they evolve into Gumshoos."

It looked like casting Sizz and Woosh were my best bets for this fight, considering their affinities. Chespin stands beside me, ready to fight. I couldn't turn it down- After all, I had to help it save its friend. Ash sends out his Milcery, and Chloe sends out... Ponyta? Turns out she caught it the other day. We were ready for combat!

I run at Yungoos and land an attack. Yungoos flinches, but it retaliates by attacking me with Tackle. Milcery and Ponyta attack both of the enemies with a coordinated Fairy Wind.

"Chespin!" I yell. "Use Rollout on Grubbin!"

Chespin builds up speed, then it starts rolling at Grubbin to land multiple hits. But even with that combo attack, Grubbin and Yungoos barely looked fazed.

"Yungoos!" One of the hunters cackle. "Use Leer!"

Yungoos glares at us, creeping us out to to drop our guard a little. Grubbin takes this chance to use String Shot on Chespin to hinder its movements. Yungoos then follows up by using Bug Bite, which does a super-effective hit!

"Woah!" I yelp. "You alright, Chespin?!"

"I'm fine. What next?" Chespin says.

"Stay back for now. This'll do some major damage! Sizz!"

A wall of fire shoots out of my palm, dealing normal damage to Yungoos but critical damage to Grubbin. Milcery deals extra hurt by Tackling Grubbin, and Ponyta uses Confusion on Yungoos. But I remembered our main goal- to rescue Pichu. I had to come up with a plan...

"Hey," I whisper to Liana. "I've got a plan. Jump into the bushes, and walk around them without being seen. I'm pretty sure you can grab Pichu from behind them. Got it?"

"Sounds easy enough," Liana says. She manages to go into the bushes without being seen by the villains. Now we just had to hold out until Liana could save Pichu.

"You're not half bad, kid," One of the villains says. "But I'm afraid it's time to put an end to our little game. Grubbin, use String Shot! And wrap 'em all at once!"

Grubbin focuses, then fires a gigantic mass of string. There's no time to react as it manages to coil all four of us. How does a larva Pokemon muster so much strength?! It manages to lift us in the air and slam us down to the ground for major damage. Chespin and Ponyta are almost knocked out from that hit alone. It's all I can do to hang on...

"Well, would ya look at that! They survived our trump card!"

"Yeah," I shoot back. "But you won't survive THIS!"

I fire another Sizz at them. But to my disbelief, they survived. Barely. What the heck?! I'm pretty sure I would make at least Grubbin faint, due to its affinity for Fire-type moves! Tch, whatever... We can work around that.

"This doesn't look so good," One of the villains groans. "They're beating the stuffing out of our Pokemon."

"Then maybe we should just..." The other smiles. "Nab Pichu and make a break for it!" I gasp. Was Liana too late?! But when they turned around to grab Pichu, all they ended up grabbing was air...?

"Hey there!" Liana says from behind us. "Need something from lil' ol' me?" Liana proudly showed Pichu on her shoulder.

"No way!" The hunter gasps. "Since when did you get Pichu before we could?!"

"Why don't I leave that to your imagination?"

"Great job, Liana!" I cheer. "You were just in time!"

"Now it's payback time," Pichu says. "Why don't you and Pikachu help me send these buffoons blasting off?"

"Okay," Ash says. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Liana, use Inky Jolt!" I yell. "And Pichu, use Thunder Shock!"

The trio jump into the air and fire every last bit of electricity they can muster into their electric combo. It hits the enemies and sends them flying, much like how we send Team Rocket blasting off after a fight.

"And don't come back!" I mock them. "You alright, Pichu?"

"I'm fine! All thanks to you guys!" Pichu cheers.

"Yeah. She would have been captured by those Pokemon hunters if you didn't show up," Oshawott says.

"Aren't you going to Floji?" Chespin asks us.

"Yeah," I say. "Heading there for our second Gym Badge."

"Then mind if we come with you, David?"

"Wh-What?! All four of you? Really?!"

"Of course! You've always been a good help to us, like when you saved us from that mech, and now those Pokemon hunters. I think it's time we repay the favor again. What do you say, guys? You guys on board with this?"

Scorbunny, Oshawott, and Pichu agree. I smirk as I pull four Poke Balls from my pocket.

"Alright, then! Go, Poke Balls!" I hurl them in the air as high as I could, and the four Pokemon jump after them to hit the Poke Ball's button in order to get inside. The Poke Balls hit the floor, and shake once... twice... three times... And they flash green! I'm ecstatic from the result.

"Heck yeah! I just caught four Pokemon at once!"

"Unbelievable!" Rotom bleeps. "I think that's the first time someone has caught more than two Pokemon at the same time!"

"Awesome job, David!" Lynn slaps me on the back. "I'm sure they'd be awesome!"

"I'm kinda jealous," Allison sneers. "Now you'll have a super-easy time getting your Gym Badge compared to the rest of us."

"But that's not really a bad thing," Ash shoots back. "After all, the challenge makes it super fun!"

"Yeah, I'm with Ash," Robert says. "Gym Badges aren't given to you, you earn 'em!"

"Then why don't we get closer to earning them right now? Let's keep going to Floji!"

* * *

The one in which David returns to the Pokemon world, and catches four Pokemon at once!

Man, this one was so much fun to write. I had this scene written down in my mind for a long time.


	27. Curry Cataclysm

Me and the team continued on our way to Rifia Town in order to get closer to Floji. A few hours ago I managed to catch four Pokemon at once: Chespin, Scorbunny, Oshawott, and Pichu. And I'm pretty sure with my jacked-up team, the Floji Gym Badge was as good as mine.

"But you can't be so sure about that," Ash interrupts me. "You don't know what'll happen until you challenge the Gym, you know."

"Yeah, yeah," I say. "But I'm just saying that I'm pretty confident with my team. Although I've been thinking..."

"Thinking about what?"

"I've got six Pokemon. And I have the ability to fight, so my team's basically seven instead of the regular six. I wonder how that'll affect me in my battles?"

"I'll tell you this, David. When I was traveling the world, some Gyms I've been to restricted how many Pokemon I could bring to a Gym Battle. For example, I could only bring three out of six Pokemon to a Gym Battle. Maybe the same's for you?"

"Oh, really? Well, I'm definitely throwing myself into the Gym Battle- I love to fight. And considering Floji's Gym is Fire-type, I could bring in Oshawott... But who else could I bring? I don't know the limit of how many I can bring to the fight."

"Why don't we find out when we get there?" Robert suggests. I've noticed that for a while he seemed kind of pumped up for something.

"Sure thing, Robert," I agree. "But why're you so excited to go to Floji?"

"Oh, about that... Not only Floji's my home, but there's a Pokemon Fest coming up!"

"Pokemon Fest?" Ash repeats.

"Surely you've read about it in David's brochure. A Pokemon Fest comes around once a month, and it's one of the most exciting events in Terelm! The Fest's split into two parts. In the first part, you get on stage and rock out."

"'Rock out?'" I repeat.

"What I mean by that is that you play music at Floji Stadium! It's not necessary to participate, but it's super fun. The second part is where the main event happens- battling! You rent a Pokemon related to the team you sign up for, and fight for your team's honor!"

"That sounds so cool!" Ash exclaims, eyes sparkling. "I wanna go do that right away!"

"But what about our Gym Badge?" Allison asks.

"The Gym's not going anywhere, Allison," Lynn says. "It couldn't hurt to go to the Pokemon Fest, right?"

"Well... I guess you're right!"

There was one thing I had on my mind, though. "Play music?" I say. "I don't think we know how to play any instruments... Except you, Robert. Based on your words, you've played music onstage before, right?"

"Spot on," Robert says. "I play electric guitar. I usually leave it at home when I set out. Aaron also helps me out with the music, and he plays drums."

"Only guitar and drums?" Rotom says. "I don't think that's enough for a complete rock band. So how do you pull it off?"

"Trust me, I know our instruments are a little lacking. But maybe you guys could help us out."

"Oh, really?" I say. "I'd definitely want in on that action. Don't you guys agree?" Everyone else nods. "Oh, another thing... Does everyone really need to play rock music?"

"No. We're allowed to do whatever type of music we want, but everyone just picks rock for some reason. And I'm not exaggerating- literally everyone who played music for a Pokemon Fest played rock! And I bet this month's gonna be no exception. Not that's a bad thing, mind you."

"So why don't we stick out? Let's do orchestral music!"

"O-Orchestral?!" Lynn blurts. "But we're nowhere near the amount of required people for an orchestra!"

"We could just keep it minimal, like how Robert and Aaron do it."

"Oh... Well, alright."

And right after she said that, we were greeted by an all-too-familiar sound: Ash's stomach grumbling. Man, that guy really does have a bottomless pit for a stomach!

"Heh..." Ash chuckles. "I guess I'm a little hungry."

"Actually, why don't we take a break?" Allison suggests. "I'm pretty sure the Pokemon Fest's in something like a week, and we'd still have time even if we made a pit stop."

We agree, and with our Ninjask-like speed, we had the camp set up in a flash. Ash, Allison and I sent out our Pokemon to roam around. Of course, we were all kinda hungry, so we decided to make some food.

"Hold it!" I exclaim. "Remember the first time I tasted your cooking? I ended up... fainting, remember?" I really wanted to say "vomit," but that was way too blunt. And I wasn't wrong- everyone saw me faint after I ate their Mystery Food X.

"But you pitched in too," Allison grumbles. "You can't put all the blame on us."

"Yeah," Lynn adds. "I think Allison and I were meaning to tell you that."

"Well... true," I admit. "But I think it's mainly because of you. Who knows? Maybe I could do it this time. Sorry about that."

I walk over to the cooking pot and ponder what to put in. Since I didn't have any key ingredients, I decided to just make basic curry. I consulted Rotom's advice for any Berries that could be spicy, and it suggested that I use Cheri Berries. I didn't have any in my inventory, and there weren't any around, according to Rotom's analysis. But it reported there were Tamato Berries in the vicinity, which could go just as well.

I didn't have to walk far from the camp to find Tamato Berries, and I picked up about four. I threw them all in at once.

"Wait, David!" Rotom gasped. "You shouldn't-"

"Shouldn't do what?" I ask.

"Ugh... never mind. It's too late anyway."

I was kinda confused why Rotom seemed a little agitated, but I put that aside and focused on making the curry. Remembering the steps the girls taught me from our first curry catastrophe, I was able to serve up some plates of spicy curry.

"Hey, guys!" I call. "Curry's ready!"

I set up the table, and put everyone's plates in front of them. Everyone seemed to be pleased with my creations, but Rotom remained on edge.

"Hey, David," Aaron says. "What'd you put in the curry?"

"I wanted something spicy, so I put in Tamato Berries. It should be pretty good!"

"Spicy, huh? My favorite!"

Afterward, we were set to dig in. Even Robert and Aaron looked pretty eager. We all took in a spoonful at the same time... and it wasn't until then that I realized I made a grave mistake.

Apparently I made the curry too spicy, and that's probably an understatement. As soon as the curry hit everyone's taste buds, they all practically breathed fire and freaked out. I think their combined "Flamethrowers" could have burned down a small forest.

Surprisingly, Aaron and I were the only ones who could handle it. Aaron? Probably because he's a Fire-type. As for me, I think it's because I resist Fire-type moves. But I don't know how those were related.

And it was at this moment I discovered that Liana and Chloe have an affinity for overly-spicy food. They immediately fainted as soon as they stopped spitting flames.

"What the heck is this?!" Lynn shrieks after she calms down.

"This is like if fire was converted into food, it would be this!" Allison shouted.

"Oh boy..." I gulp. "So... Apparently I'm capable of making Mystery Food X...? Geez... Now I know how it feels for others to hate MY cooking..."

"What do you mean, 'you're capable of making Mystery Food X?'" Aaron glares at me skeptically. "It's awesome!"

"Uh-huh... Don't get me wrong, I'm able to enjoy it too... But for the rest of the guys? Man..."

"D-David," Chloe gasps. "I... don't think I'll ever trust you to cook again..."

"Yeah. I never thought I'd use my own label on my own food..."

* * *

The one in which Robert reveals his hype for going to Floji. And David discovers he sucks at cooking, even when the girls aren't helping him.

I'm starting to run out of ideas for "in-between-town" chapters for this fanfic. I hope I can come up with stuff soon...


	28. Training Rematch

After that disaster, I remembered the shield I had tucked away into my bag way back from when we left Grama. I saw that it could use a little more work... I unsheathe my sword and begin smoothening those jagged edges. It ended up becoming smaller than before, turning it into a buckler. But I was able to carve it into the shape I wanted.

I pulled one of my other blocks of wood and carved it into a handle. I was thankful I was able to get it right this time, and I slapped it onto the buckler with some glue. After waiting for the glue to dry, I had my first shield.

I had to test this in a battle. I thought Allison would make a good opponent, since Fire-type moves would burn it to a crisp, and Water-type moves would warp the shield, making it less effective.

"Really?" Allison asks. "You wanna rematch? What do you think, Chloe?"

"Well," Chloe says, "After getting hit by that Frizzle, I've been waiting for another opportunity to even the score. Let's do it!"

Smiling cockily, I jump back and draw my sword. I bring out the buckler I finished earlier and hold it in my offhand. Allison and Chloe were surprised to see that I now had a defensive tool, but it was clear to me that they thought they could work around it.

"You make the first move!" I declare.

"We accept!" Allison says. "Chloe, use Fake Out!"

Instead of disconcertingly walking towards me, Chloe starts charging. I bring up my shield to defend myself, but she stops her attack midway, and reaches around my shield to land a hit. I flinched, stopping me from retaliating.

"Follow up with Quick Attack!"

Chloe starts speeding again and turns invisible from her extreme speed. Before I could react, I get bashed by her whole body. I respond by shooting a Frizzle at her, and she takes decent damage.

"You okay?!"

"I'm alright," Chloe says. "What now?"

"Fairy Wind!"

I knew that I was resistant to that move, but it would be better to take no damage at all. I bring up my shield to guard and successfully block the attack. But Chloe reads my moves, and was able to get a free hit as soon as I let my guard down. I was able to slash her before she was able to retreat, however.

"What?" I taunt. "That all you got, girls?"

Allison and Chloe get a little miffed, but they shake it off. Allison orders Chloe to use Life Dew, and she heals herself. Next thing I know, I'm getting assaulted with a Quick Attack. I rush in there and use Falcon Slash. I suppose I could do a little better, though...

"Hmm... Maybe I should switch Pokemon..."

"You're thinking of throwing Ponyta in now?" Chloe says. "C'mon, just lemme battle him a little more!"

"Hehe, sorry, Chloe. But I promise I'll switch with you later, okay? Return for now."

"Hmph... Just make it quick, alright?"

A very disappointed Chloe struts behind Allison, who brings in her Ponyta. She orders it to use Confusion, and I take some more damage. I think for a while and wonder what Galarian Ponyta are weak to. Since it was a Psychic-type, I concluded that it would be weak to Bug-, Ghost-, and Dark-type moves, all of which I lacked. Maybe this is why she switched Pokemon... I had no way of exploiting Ponyta's weaknesses.

Undeterred, I run at Ponyta and land a critical hit, dealing major damage. Ponyta refuses to give up however, and makes me drop my guard a little with a Tail Whip. It then follows up with a Tackle. Shoot... I'm barely getting any chances to use my shield! How am I supposed to win like this?!

In desperation, I prepare a spell. Two intertwined fireballs appear, as if I'm about to cast Frizzle, but panic made me shoot it differently, causing a wave of fire to fly towards Ponyta, roasting it. It seemed like I just used an improved version of Sizz... Sizzle, right?

"Woah!" Allison gasps. "What was that?!"

"That was Sizzle," I reply. "An enhanced form of Sizz!"

"Since when did you learn that?"

"Just now. But focus on the fight!"

Casting Sizzle had done a lot of damage to Ponyta, and it seemed a few more attacks would cause it to faint. I wouldn't cast Sizzle again, because I could feel my magic energy petering out. I swiftly land a blow before Ponyta has time to react. Ponyta attempts to counter with a Tackle, but it collapses before it could get going. I take this chance to land one more attack, which caused it to faint.

"Ponyta, no!"

Allison runs over to Ponyta, worried sick. I wouldn't blame her- the friends I'm traveling with care about their Pokemon a big deal. Allison manages to shake Ponyta awake.

"Are you alright, Ponyta?"

"Y-Yes... I'm fine," Ponyta gasps. "Finish this for me... alright?"

Allison nods, and returns Ponyta to its Poke Ball.

"Well, I didn't expect you to come in clutch with a new spell. But that doesn't matter! We'll win this! Go, Chloe!"

Chloe psyches herself up for another round. Chloe is commanded to use Fake Out. I decide not to let my guard down and hold my shield for the entire duration of the attack. But Chloe foresaw this, and ran behind me to attack and make me flinch. She tries to Quick Attack me, but I fend her off with my buckler. I'm starting to run out of stamina, and I had to do something ASAP.

I try casting Sizzle on Chloe, and she takes big damage. I try it again... Only for the spell to fizzle out and die. I'm already out of magic energy?! Why do I get drained so quickly?! That's so unfair!

While I rant in my mind, I have no time to avoid another Quick Attack. I fall on my knees, defenseless and unable to do anything.

"Yeah, Chloe! Now finish the job!"

Chloe runs at me and attacks so fiercely that she kicks up a cloud of dust, as if she were using Co-op de Grâce on her own. By the time she finishes, I'm already knocked out.

When I come to, I see Chloe using Life Dew on me to heal both of us.

"What happened to me?" I mutter.

"You lost," Allison says. "You were beaten by Chloe's newly-learned Play Rough."

"Really? She just learned a new move?"

"Uh-huh. But it's thanks to you that we've both gotten stronger!"

"Yeah. Good fight."

The two of us shake hands in good sportsmanship.

* * *

The one in which David and Chloe grow stronger, and the latter defeats the former.

A certain Pokemon takes the spotlight for the next chapter...


	29. Looks Can Be Deceiving

After losing to Allison and Chloe in a battle, we gathered everyone else and packed up the tent. Once again, we were off to Rifia Town, the last "checkpoint" before we would reach Floji. It made me wonder what would happen to us next...

"Hey, David?" Ash says. "You've got something on your back."

"Oh, that?" I say. "That's my shield. I finished crafting one after much difficulty."

"Really?! Does it work?"

"Yeah! Although it's made of wood, and I'm pretty sure a Fire- or Water-type move would decimate it. And it's kind of small... But it's better to have a buckler than no shield at all, right? Oh, by the way, Allison and I had a rematch."

"Did you win?" Robert asks.

"Well... unfortunately, no." I could hear Allison and Lynn high-five each other, but I wasn't mad about that. "But it wasn't a total loss! Chloe and I learned some new moves. She learned Play Rough, and I ended up learning how to cast Sizzle."

"Sizzle?" Aaron repeats.

"An enhanced form of Sizz! Lemme show you." I pop a Leppa Berry into my mouth, and focus magic energy into my hands. I thrust both my arms forward to cast the spell, and everyone is captivated by the wave of fire that erupts from my palms.

"That's so cool!" Lynn says, starstruck. "Your magic just keeps growing stronger!"

"How many spells do you have up your sleeve?!" Ash adds.

"Oh, uh... I don't really know. All I really know are the ones I know how to cast... Right, Liana?"

But when I looked at her, something seemed... off. Instead of human eyes, she had... dots for eyes? This wasn't right... Or could she do this all along? I was still confused when another Liana appeared and glared at it.

"Two Lianas?!" Chloe screamed. "What is this?!"

"Well, we've got an imposter," Liana grumbles. "Luckily I've dealt with enough of these to know exactly what to do."

Liana slaps her doppelganger across the face. As soon as she did, it transformed into... something? I could describe it as a living mass of purple goo. I honestly had no idea if it was a Pokemon or a Hybrimon.

"That's a Ditto!" Ash gasps. "It transformed into Liana!"

"Ditto?" I repeat. "Could you read its entry, Rotom?"

"But of course!" Rotom says. "Ditto. The transform Pokemon. A Normal-type. Ditto can rearrange their bodies' cells to change into other lifeforms. Ditto is the only non-legendary Pokemon that can use Transform."

"Transform?"

"Transform is a move that allows the user to look like whatever it wants. It commonly turns into one of its foes in a battle, also copying and learning their moves."

"So that explains it! Ditto used Transform to look like Liana."

Ditto looked like it was trying to say something, but we were unable to understand it for some reason. Weren't Hybrimon able to understand Pokemon, and also allow us to understand them in the process? So why couldn't we understand it?

"Oh, that," Liana says. "I don't really know why, but there are specific Pokemon Hybrimon are able to understand and not understand. But all the Pokemon we're able to understand are also known as 'animal Pokemon.' And every other Pokemon? Well, we just can't hear them. Although there is an exception... if we form a strong bond with them, then we gain the ability to hear them. Not that that's ever happened to me."

"Well, that's really interesting, but weird at the same time."

Ditto looked disappointed when it realized we couldn't understand it. It turned around and started going away. But when it went a considerable distance, it turned back and signaled to us that it wanted us to follow it, then ran off.

"I wonder what Ditto wants?" Aaron thinks out loud.

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Susie says. "Let's follow it!"

Without another word, we run off to find Ditto. We were able to catch up to it, and it showed us a grassy plain with many purple rats while we hid in a bush. But none of them were Ditto. It looked like the Ditto we were dealing with was the odd one out...

"Rattata," Rotom says. "The mouse Pokemon. A Normal-type. It likes cheese, nuts, fruits, and berries. It also comes out into open fields to steal food from unsuspecting travelers."

"So what's the problem?" Wesley asks Ditto.

Ditto signals us to stay put, and it went to the group. It used Transform to turn into another Rattata. We could see it talking to the other Rattata, but their conversation seemed to turn into a disagreement. Eventually, it left in defeat, and returned to us, also reverting to its normal form.

"I think Ditto wants to blend in with those Rattata but can't," I say.

"Maybe a part of the problem is using Transform," Ash says. "When a Ditto transforms into another Pokemon, it sticks out by still having dots for eyes. Some Pokemon are able to notice that, and it sometimes leads to arguments."

"So then... what if we used a mask?"

"I don't think disguising it will work," Liana says. "After all, they probably saw through its transformation. I think I could go up to them and ask what the problem is. Think that'll work?"

"Well... I think. But I'll come with you, and we should pretend we were passing by and heard 'rumors' about this Ditto."

With a little hesitation, Liana agrees to my plan. We casually walk up to the Rattata herd.

"Hey!" One of the Rattata exclaimed. "We've got outsiders!"

"Woah, woah," Liana says. "Calm down. We're just passing by."

"If you were passing by, why don't you go already?"

"That's because we're looking for a Ditto. We heard rumors about it roaming around this area. We thought you knew it."

"Oh, that Ditto? It was pretty clever Transforming into another Rattata in order to blend in with our herd, I'll give it that. But we were able to determine it was disguised, and we kicked it out before it could cause any trouble."

"'Cause trouble?'"

"Yep. Outsiders can't be trusted. It kept coming back, and we pushed it away every time. It's all we can do to protect ourselves."

"I see... And where is it now?" I had to say, Liana was pretty good at acting.

"Heck if we know. It's been a while since we sent it off."

"Okay... well, that's fine. See ya."

Liana and I walk back to the bush where everyone else was hiding. They immediately probed us for details, and I told them the whole thing.

"Well, I'm sure we can convince them," Ash says. "And if that doesn't work, we can have a battle!"

"So are we gonna go back there already?" I ask. "They'd be pretty suspicious if they saw Liana and I."

"Yeah... you have a point. We'll handle this, you two hang back."

But before Ash could step out of the bush, we heard a loud noise. When we peeked out of our cover, we saw some people attacking the Rattata, but we couldn't see who they were from here.

"Who're they?!"

"Doesn't matter, we gotta stop 'em!"

Without a word, Ash started running towards the assaulters. Instinctively, I run after him, and so does everyone else. It was pretty lucky they didn't notice us running towards them.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Wesley, use Ink Shower!"

Wesley takes flight and grabs Pikachu, who climbs onto his back. After closing the distance, Pikachu and Wesley fire their moves, but the attackers jump away in time to avoid the combo. When we drew nearer, we saw... Ugh. Yep, Team Noir.

"You just had to interfere!" Robin screamed. "Now how are we gonna make this our secret base?!"

"You never will," I counter. "As long as we're around, Team Noir's doomed to failure!"

"You're wrong, brat," Oliver sneered. "You can't doom nothing but yourself!"

"Then we'll see who can! Sizzle!"

I shoot a large wave of fire from my hands, damaging their Pokemon. Nickit and Stunky take normal damage, but Sneasel is almost KO'd from that attack alone. Ash sends out his Milcery, and I let Wesley join the fight. Lynn signals for Allison and Robert to hang back while she lets Susie enter the battlefield.

I command Wesley to use Double Kick on Sneasel to finish it off, which he does. Milcery uses Fairy Wind on Nickit to deal some super-effective damage, and Susie uses Tackle on Stunky.

"Why're you doing this?!" I yell at them. "You know you're gonna lose!"

"If you're talking about us, we don't plan on stealing all these useless Rattata," Robin explains. "We're just attacking 'em 'cuz we wanna."

"What...?! That's even... Actually, I can't even tell if stealing Pokemon or endangering them is worse!"

"Big words, kid," Nick steps in. "Stunky! Use Poison Gas!"

Stunky releases poisonous gas from its tail. It manages to hit all of us, and we become envenomated. I search within my bag to see if I had any Pecha Berries, but no dice. Dang it...! It's at times like these I wish I'd stocked up on more items... While I'm lost in my thoughts, Nickit uses Beat Up on me while the poison eats away at our life force.

"You guys alright?!" Ash yells.

"Can't... go on..." I choke. "But... I gotta!"

I forced myself to cast Sizzle on the brutes' Pokemon. While the spell managed to hurt them, I collapse in the process. I couldn't move, but... I could scream! I'm not entirely useless. Even though Wesley's poisoned, he could still fight!

"Wesley, use Wing Slash on Stunky!"

Wesley summons his wings and swings them at the poison skunk, dealing damage and splattering red, defense-decreasing ink all over it. But in spite of his best efforts to fight the poison, he loses the strength to keep flying, and he tumbles to the ground next to me.

"This looks serious!" Ash exclaimed. "But we just gotta keep trying! Milcery, use Fairy Wind on Nickit!"

Milcery focuses and fires a fairy wind at Nickit for big damage. But after it finishes its move, it stumbles and seems unable to continue. Were we all going to lie helpless like this...?!

"Well, what, little girl?" Nick sneered at Susie. "Are you gonna follow suit?"

Susie gasped, but Lynn was enraged. "Leave her alone, you brute!" She screamed. "You don't tell her what to do, only I do! Susie, use Tackle on Stunky!"

Susie starts running and hits Stunky, but she falls on her back after she executes the move. Rats...! We couldn't do anything! We were giving them the chance they were waiting for... Is this it?!

"Well, well, well," Robin mocks us. "Looks like you're all tuckered out. It seems this is the end for all of you."

"So, leader?" Nick addresses Robin. "How do we finish them off?"

"You know, guys," Oliver steps in, "I don't think just offing them with our moves is enough. How about... we take them to the boss? Our original mission was to capture the magic dude's Hybrimon, but now we've got all these guys."

"Ooh, that's not a bad idea," Robin says. "Well, then. Guess we'll just take you to the base. The boss will decide your fate."

The trio begins to approach, ready to lay their grubby hands on us. It was hopeless. No matter how hard I struggled, I couldn't break through the poison and fight... Am I really gonna die...?

"SIZZLE!"

Out of nowhere, a wall of fire blazes towards Team Noir and engulfs them in flames. I struggled to look towards the source. It was... me?! No, wait... Those eyes...

"Ditto?!" Ash gasps.

"Amazing!" Rotom bleeps. "It used Transform to turn into David! And what's more, it was able to use Sizzle on them! Data updated!"

"Y-You... saved us!" I cough. "Th-Thank you...!"

"Anytime, human," Ditto says. "Don't mind the fact that I'm talking right now, I can talk because I turned into you."

"How did that Ditto... burn all of us?!" Robin chokes. "Impossible...!"

"I-I'm pretty s-sure you know all my s-spells," I stammer. "So th-then... Use Woosh and send them flying!"

Ditto sweeps its arm, causing it to fire a small whirlwind at Team Noir. When it connects, it sends them blasting off. I had to say... That was really close. If it hadn't been for Ditto, we would have been goners.

"Here," Allison says. "I've got plenty of Pecha Berries. You'll be fine!"

After Allison heals us and we're back on our feet, I turn to Ditto. It smiles.

"I thought you were gonna help me," It says. "But I ended up helping you."

"Yeah," I agree. "How could I repay you...?"

"You don't have to." It points towards a hill, where all the Rattata were watching. They were... applauding? "They've seen what a Ditto can do. I'm sure they'll accept me now. But if I hadn't met you, I'd never blend in with them. So thank you."

"Of course. You're welcome."

After that, we were about to continue on our journey to Rifia Town. It was just around the corner, and we were getting closer to Floji. We waved goodbye to the Rattata and Ditto as our journey continued.

* * *

The one in which David meets a Ditto, who helps him defeat Team Noir that attacks a herd of Rattata.

This took a little longer than I would have liked. I was a little confused on what words to write.


	30. In Our Time of Need

After walking for a while, we finally reached Rifia Town at sunset. Before that, we were able to help a Ditto blend in with a group of Rattata, but Team Noir stepped in and started attacking them. Luckily we were able to stop them.

"Alright!" Ash exclaims. "Rifia Town! We're getting closer to the Floji Gym!"

"But weren't we gonna go to Floji for the Pokemon Fest?" Robert says. "The Gym's not going anywhere."

"Oh, right... Sorry, I got a little carried away."

"Y'know, after all that walking, I'm kinda tired," I say. "I'm pretty sure there's a Pokemon Center around. Why don't we hit the hay there?" Everyone decides that's a good idea. After taking two vacant rooms, us guys split up with the girls to sleep.

"What if I remember something again?" I think out loud.

"What do you mean?" Wesley asked.

"Remember, I was able to recover some of my memories in Kogeta Town. Maybe I'll return to that memory world again?"

"Well, I hope so," Ash says. "After all, I'd love to know all about your past when you remember it all."

"The thing is, I haven't had one of those migraines in a while. Maybe I shouldn't count on it... But then again, I can't knock it 'til I try it, right? Isn't that what you always say?"

"Mhm. That's right."

After spending some time having some conversations, we all decided to go to sleep in order to prepare for the next day. I kept my hopes up, hoping that I'd return to that memory world and remember something again.

And I did. When I came to, I found myself in that same, familiar grassy plain that I wound up in when I fell asleep in Kogeta Town's Pokemon Center. It seemed some more of my memories were going to return to me.

"You have returned," The voice says.

"Yeah... I have," I agree. "So, you brought me back here again? What am I gonna remember now?"

"You must find out for yourself. But I must warn you... I will not be able to bring you here again in a while."

"What?! Why?!"

"I wish I could keep bringing your memories back. But my power is almost exhausted. I have just enough power for you to remember one last time... Until you obtain something."

"Obtain... something? What are you talking about?"

"I speak of..." The voice grew distorted. Why?! This was getting agitating. Why was the truth being constantly being hidden from me?! Was this guy doing this on purpose?! "You must get more of those. Now, my time is running out. Go, David! You must remember!"

A light enveloped me as I was transported to the memory world. When the light dissipated, I was back in Resed Sands, where I left off from before unintentionally fainting and returning to the Pokemon world. Of course, Sapphy and Rosie were still there.

It occurred to me that we were heading towards the Cryptic Woods, and we'd reach Druca Plateau from there, and finally, Arkano. I decided I'd begin this memory sequence the same way I ended the last one:

"Level with me, Sapphy," I said. "Is this your first time outta Resed?"

"Not really," Sapphy replied. "I usually go to Legitopia Plains to play with Rosie. But I do remember that one time when I went the wrong way and accidentally entered the Cryptic Woods. That's also where I met her!"

"Oh, really? That's actually kinda interesting. But you've never gone as far as that, have you?"

"Yeah. I've never been to Druca or Arkano. I always stayed away from there because of the Cryptic Woods. There are really tough monsters there!"

"But if you're afraid of the Cryptic Woods, why are you coming with me now?"

"I'm not scared if I have you by my side!" She seemed really perky and dependent on me, kinda like Liana. Although if I got the strange feeling if I told her about my world, something bad would happen. So I kept it in and kept on going.

It wasn't long until we reached the Cryptic Woods. To be honest, it was creepier than I thought it was. King Archard described it as a dark forest that leads to an ancient dungeon, but I never expected it to intimidate me a little.

"This is... a little creepy, huh?" I mutter.

"W-Well, yeah," Sapphy whispers. "But we gotta get to Druca. Let's go!"

With that, we entered the Cryptic Woods. We tried our best to avoid fighting and getting lost, but one of those were inevitable. When we turned a corner, we practically collided into a group of enemies. We backpedaled and saw our enemies were a scorpion, a skeleton, and a bewarewolf.

"Uh-oh!" Rosie gasps. "Looks like we've agitated them!"

"Then we'll have to fight back," I counter. I rush at the scorpion and land an attack. Sapphy and Rosie unleash a combo attack on the same target. But even after that, it looked like we didn't make even a dent.

"Looks like physical attacks won't do," Sapphy says. "So let's use magic! Rosie, cast Frizzle on the scorpion!"

Rosie spits two intertwined fireballs from her mouth. But the scorpion replies by casting Buff on itself, boosting its defensive power. The bewarewolf assumes a powerful stance, but I had no idea what it would do. The skeleton, however, decides not to set up any defenses and swiftly slashes me before I could do anything. But the strange thing is, when I took the blow, I thought my defenses were lowered.

"That was Helm Splitter!" Rosie exclaims. "If you get hit by that, your defenses will get splatted!"

"Well, it's fine if I don't get hit," I reply. Even though the scorpion had increased its defensive power, I had to take it down. I was pretty sure one slash wouldn't wipe it out, so I used Falcon Slash. And to my delight, it worked! I guess even the toughest defenses can be broken with enough brute force.

Sapphy turns her attention to the skeleton, and casts Swoosh on it, weakening it severely. The bewarewolf notices this, and it replies by landing a slash-and-bite combo on her. But despite that, she seemed fine. I decide to avenge her and landed a Falcon Slash on it. But I could notice a purple aura surrounding it, and it appeared to be getting stronger. It grinned maliciously.

"What's going on?" I say.

"It was in the Feel the Burn stance," Rosie explained. "If the user takes damage while they're in that position, their tension will increase. Tension severely increases the amount of damage the user does."

"Hold on. Tension? I'm pretty sure I can do that... NNGH!"

"David?!" Sapphy gasps.

As I psyched myself up, I could feel my power growing stronger, and I could see the purple aura surrounding my body. This was tension...? It felt AWESOME! I feel like I could take them on no problem. I rushed at the Bewarewolf again and Flame Slashed it. My increased tension did more damage. But I could see the bewarewolf's tension was getting too high...!

"This isn't good!" Rosie screams. "If the bewarewolf decides to attack now, we'll all be goomed!"

"You're right, Rosie!" Sapphy agrees. "We need to use magic to wipe it out. David, I don't think my spells will work alone, so you need to use Frizzle on it. Got it? Now, let's go! Swoosh!"

"Frizzle!"

As soon as Sapphy launches the tornado, I throw my fireballs inside. It infused with the tornado, turned into a fire tornado, and dealt massive damage to the bewarewolf! But even after all that, it was still able to fight. This thing doesn't quit!

The bewarewolf grinned. It charged at me, and I knew exactly what was going to happen. There was nowhere to run! Nowhere to avoid that massive attack... Would this be it?! It slashed me right in the torso, and I collapsed. As I slipped out of consciousness, I could see the skeleton knock out Sapphy and Rosie. But... I saw... someone else...

When I come to, I was in a room. Someone was gazing over me- a girl. No, not Sapphy. Someone else. When I got up, she immediately spoke.

"You're alive!" She exclaimed. "I thought those monsters had killed you both!"

"Oh, uh... Thanks, kid," I say. "But... how did I get here?"

"I was wandering around the Cryptic Woods, but then I saw you and your friends being attacked by monsters. They were able to knock you out, but I was able to wipe them out in return."

"And where am I now?"

"Druca's inn."

Wait, what?! She took us all the way to Druca?! How did she do that...?

* * *

The one in which David and Sapphy lose to monsters, but a mysterious girl saves them and takes them to Druca.

This memory sequence might take longer than the first one, just so you know.


	31. A Near-Endless Assault

"What do you mean, you carried all three of us?!" I repeat in disbelief. "That's just absurd!"

At this moment, I was standing outside of Druca's inn and talking to the mystery girl. Sapphy and Rosie enthusiastically went around exploring the town, due to never having seen it before.

"I know it's ridiculous, but it's true," The girl counters. "Believe what you will, but I did carry you all. Not that it was easy, though."

"W-Well, yeah... I guess without you, we would have been monster food... So, thanks. Who are you, by the way?"

"My name's Esther. My goal is to become a luminary!"

"Luminary? You mean like a legendary hero?"

"No, that's a different kind of Luminary. In fact, I don't even think there are any legends revolving around Luminaries. But the luminary I'm aiming to be is basically a street performer. I've been practicing day in and day out to get my moves right. Watch this!"

Esther stepped back a little, and started dancing. I had to say, her moves were absolutely graceful! Who knew even a little kid could master such art? Not me, that's for sure. She stopped and took a bow.

"You're really good!" I gasped. "How'd you get it all right?"

"It wasn't easy, you know," Esther replied. "It took blood, sweat, and tears to get to where I am now. Right now I'm only dancing at the inn, but one of these days I'll get out there and travel the world. By the way, you're a traveler, right? Where are you headed now?"

"We're headed to-" But I'm interrupted by a booming sound coming from the town exit. When I turned to look, I could see monsters incoming, just like how monsters invaded Resed. Now they were attacking Druca?!

"Not on my watch!" I yelled. "C'mon, Sapphy! Esther, you better stay back!"

"But I-!" She was already out of earshot.

Sapphy and Rosie immediately heeded my call, and we assaulted the enemy together. We took on a wave of a bewarewolf and a skeleton, like the ones that knocked us out back in the Cryptic Woods. We may have lost to these guys once, but not again! The three of us, remembering what hurt that bewarewolf could bring, unleash a simultaneous attack on it.

But it doesn't even flinch. Dammit! These bewarewolves are just damage sponges! Thankfully, the bewarewolf was a little less aggressive this time, as it attacked me without assuming its Feel the Burn stance. The skeleton landed another attack on me, which hurt slightly more than the bewarewolf's strike, but I was fine.

"Let's wipe them out quick," I say to Rosie. "Rosie, cast Frizzle NOW!"

Rosie casts the spell, and I use the same spell too. Both of our spells hit the bewarewolf. The combined spell deals massive damage! In desperation, the bewarewolf assumes its Feel the Burn stance, but I knew this would be useless, as one more hit would be sure to take it out. But the skeleton uses Helm Splitter on Sapphy. Shoot! Sapphy's already weak to attacks as she is, and now she's even more vulnerable...

But we can work around that! I slash at the bewarewolf hastily, which takes it down. Sapphy turns to the Skeleton and casts Swoosh on it. Before it can react, I land a Falcon Slash on it, also killing it.

"Watch out!" Rosie warns us. "More monsters are coming!"

True to her word, another wave of monsters draw near! Another bewarewolf and skeleton... It looks like unlike in Druca, these monsters weren't gonna give up so easily. Sapphy, miffed at this, commands Rosie to cast Kerfrizz. Two fireballs hit the bewarewolf, while the last one hits the skeleton. I assault the skeleton with a Flame Slash. A critical hit! Nice!

The monsters make their move. The bewarewolf immediately assumes its the Feel the Burn stance, while the skeleton uses a basic attack on Sapphy. She looks fine, though. Maybe these skeletons were weaker than I thought?

But there's no time to think about that! The bewarewolf already entered its dangerous stance, so I had to take it out before it became a threat. I psyched myself up to deal more damage with my next attack. Sapphy bounces off her slimy steed to land an attack on the bewarewolf. But she barely makes a dent, and the bewarewolf's tension increases. It smirks as it lands a free, powered-up hit. She jumps back onto Rosie.

"What are you doing?!" I scream. "You're overestimating your own strength!"

"Well, sorry," She replies.

The bewarewolf turned to me and slashed, making me wince a little. Since the skeleton almost looked like it was about to crumble, I faced it and slashed it in its skull, causing it to collapse. I keep going by suddenly casting Frizzle on the bewarewolf, and Sapphy finally finishes it off.

"Phew!" Sapphy sighs. "That was a little tough, but we pulled through."

"Don't celebrate yet!" Rosie yells. "There's more where that came from!"

Of course, Sapphy just had to jinx things. The usual bewarewolf and skeleton appeared, but this time they were accompanied by a lunatick. I remember that lunaticks are pretty strong...!

"Gah! Me and my big mouth!"

"There's no end to them!" I exclaim. "What the heck do we do?! We're almost out of energy!"

Suddenly, someone runs in front of us and attacks them all at once. It's... Esther?! And she's using a whip! She could fight like us?

"Esther!" I gasp. "You came to back us up!"

"Esther?" Sapphy repeats.

"Introductions later," She says. "It's beatdown time! Kerspark!"

Esther calls upon the power of light, which damages all the enemies with holy power. The skeleton, being the undead corpse it is, takes massive damage from the divine attack and almost perishes. That was really strong! Probably the strongest I've ever seen... She'd be a great addition to our team.

But I should really get back to the task on hand. I singled out the skeleton, and it turns to bone dust. Sapphy casts Swoosh on the bewarewolf. But she looks discouraged.

"What's wrong?" I say.

"I'm almost out of magic. And you were right, my physical attacks are really weak. What should I do?"

"Even though your attacks are weak, you should keep fighting! Every bit of help counts, you know."

"Right. Thanks!"

Esther glares at the bewarewolf with intense eyes, and gives it a taste of her whip. The lunatick, however, rushes at Sapphy and starts tickling her. She bursts out laughing. This... was a rather unusual strategy for a monster, I had to say. But it then quickly fires a laser at her, which paralyzes her!

"That was Paralaser!" Esther exclaims. "She can't move after being hit by that!"

"Then we gotta protect her!" I reply. I step in front of Sapphy to take any blows she might take. Just as I thought, the bewarewolf goes in to land an attack on her, but I shield her entirely and take the whole blow.

Esther swings her whip to attack the bewarewolf and the lunatick at the same time, and the former dies from the blow. Before the lunatick has a chance to strike, I counterattack, taking it down.

"Is that all of them this time?" I ask Rosie.

"Yup," She says. "Splatted every last one of 'em!"

"Thanks, Esther. We wouldn't have held them off if we didn't have your help."

"Haha, it's nothing," She shrugs. "But you're welcome."

"I never got to tell you where we're going. We're headed to Arkano. Wanna come with?"

"Oh, yeah! I've been meaning to leave Druca for a long time. Hopefully my parents don't go crazy over this. Take care of me, alright?"

We bid Druca farewell as we got closer to our objective: Arkano.

* * *

The one in which David and Sapphy get another party member: Esther from Druca!

I was actually able to write this in one shot. Who knows, maybe my knack for fanfic writing is coming back.


	32. Battle with a Demon

With Druca behind us and a new party in tow, the four of us were getting closer to Arkano, the site of my mission. Our newest recruit, Esther, helped us defend Druca from a seemingly endless assault of monsters. Esther seemed excited to see what was outside her hometown.

"Hey, Esther?" I ask her. "You've never been out of Druca, right?"

"Oh, yeah," She affirms me. "My parents are super overprotective. Good thing I was able to help you stop those monsters without them noticing."

"Esther?" Sapphy repeats.

"Right, you've never been introduced to her, Sapphy. This is Esther. Esther, this is Sapphy. Rosie's her slime companion."

"Hope we get along," Esther smiles. "You and your little slime friend."

"By the way, David," Sapphy says, "You've asked us about our hometowns, but you never told us where you came from. So, why don'tcha spill the beans?"

"Okay," I say. "I'm from Legitopia. The thing is, the reason I'm going to Arkano is because my king, King Archard, gave me a mission to go there. Supposedly there have been several disappearances there, and I've been sent to investigate."

"Are there any other reasons why you're doing this?"

"Well... There's Cory. He's been my... friend for quite some time." I couldn't remember if he was a brother, cousin, or if he wasn't even family. "I became a knight by beating him in the Knight's Exam, which was a tournament where the winner became a knight, which was me. But he got pretty upset, and he took things into his own hands in order to become a knight as well."

"You're trying to find him?"

"Yeah... I wonder how he's doing? Hopefully he hasn't gotten himself killed..."

After that, it was silence between us, save for a few easy battles. We navigated Druca Plateau's dense forests, and managed to get to lower land. After taking the path to Arkano Field, we finally arrived at Arkano.

When His Majesty said "disappearances," I was thinking Arkano would just be a ghost town. But I was wrong. Not only was everyone gone, the entire town was demolished. All the shops, the inn, the houses... The only thing that wasn't reduced to rubble was a castle, plain to see.

"What in the world happened here?!" Rosie said, distraught. "Everything's been splatted!"

"Perhaps some sorta evil came along and trashed the place," Esther suggested.

"We gotta find whoever did this," I say. "If they're hiding somewhere, I bet they're in the castle."

Since there was no way whatsoever to prepare for an inevitable fight, we just had to suck it up and charged straight towards the fortress. I was pretty surprised that there were no guards- You'd think whoever managed to pull off this takeover would do better to boost the security level a bit.

But I wished I'd had something to fight to slow me down, because I finally saw something I never wanted to see...

Cory. Right there, in the throne room, smirking maliciously.

"Well, well, well," He sarcastically said. "I thought I'd never see you again."

"Who's that?" Sapphy asked.

"A gooman?" Rosie says. "No, that can't be right...!"

"Hey, D-David?" Esther stammers. "Isn't th-that...?"

"Cory," I finally say. "Did you do all this?!"

"Haha, sure did," He chuckled. "After losing to you in the Knight's Exam, I just so happened to come across Arkano... all in one night, at that."

"But why?! Knights don't destroy what they have to protect!"

"I don't think I need to listen to you anymore. I'm tired of being second to you. You've always beaten me every time. That changes today. What you see in the once-proud town of Arkano is undeniable proof of my superiority!"

"NO! YOU'RE WRONG! You wanted to be a knight like me, right?! You could have just asked to come along with me!"

Cory sighed, agitated. "Well, you're just as stubborn as you always were. I guess that means the time to talk's over. Let's settle this, once and for all!"

Cory rose and grabbed two arrows from his quiver, like how he fought me back in Legitopia. I grew hesitant. I had no idea who he was, or how he was related to me, but even so, I didn't have the heart to actually fight him!

"Don't falter now," Esther says. "And don't worry. I don't think that's the real him. It's more like someone's controlling him. If we defeat him, whoever's controlling him will be forced to release him. I'm sure he'll be fine."

And with that, Esther makes the first strike with her whip. After she put that into my head, I decided worrying wouldn't get me anywhere, and fighting was my only option. Yeah... I'm sure she's right. He'll be alright! I follow up Esther's attack with my own. But Cory smirks as his hand radiates with dark energy.

"That was weak. But this won't be! ZAMMLE!"

Cory launches an orb of darkness at me, which explodes upon contact. I get launched and slam against the wall. Why must I have an affinity for Dark-type moves?! And that's his main kind of magic, to boot!

"David!" Sapphy screams. "Are you alright?!"

"I... need healing!" I yell. "I'm weak to that!"

"Alright, then! One Midheal, comin' right up!"

Sapphy focuses her divine power and sends it straight into me, healing my wounds... even better than before! I don't know where she was able to learn this spell, but let's not focus on that right now. Cory sends another Zammle my way, but I'm able to avoid the blast. We respond with a magic combo consisting of Frizzle, Swoosh, and Crackle. Cory screams in pain.

"You're... stronger," He observes. "Not to mention you brought some friends with you, too... But I won't lose to numbers. Oh, mighty master of darkness! Hear your servant's cries!"

Darkness flows into him. Had he really surrendered his soul to the night?! ...No! He's just being controlled by an evil spirit! All his wounds are healed, not to mention he recharges all his magic and takes on a demonic form.

"**HUMANS,**" The monster bellows. "**ME CRUSH YOU. FOR MASTER OF DARKNESS!**"

"What the heck?!" Esther shrieks. "This guy's outta his mind!"

"You're wrong," I counter. "I can feel it. Cory's spirit is struggling to take back control of its body. I know it! There's just something in there, overpowering it... And we'll just wipe it out!"

I run at the beast as quickly as my legs could carry me and Falcon Slash him in the face. But before I completely rebound, he manages to get a swipe on my chest. Esther and Sapphy cast Sparkle and Swoosh on him, dealing more elemental damage.

The monster fights back by spewing a cloud of Inferno. I barely take any damage, but Sapphy and Esther suffer a whole lot more. The monster laughs at the sight of their pain.

"**DO YOU NOT SEE THAT YOU CANNOT WIN?**" It mocks us. "**GIVE UP WHILE YOU CAN, HUMANS.**"

"NO!" I scream. "I won't abandon my friend when he needs me!"

Furious, I rush at the monster and unleash a combo consisting of a Falcon Slash and a Frizzle. The monster screams and collapses, almost knocking me down when I land. But I stand strong.

"Get him now, David!" Esther cheered. "You can do it!"

"Do it, gooman!" Rosie cried. "I'm leaving this in your hands!"

"Make us all proud!" Sapphy raved. "Okay, David?!"

"Yeah! OH, YGGDRASIL!" I beckon. "GIVE ME STRENGTH!"

I don't even know what's happening anymore! My body and mouth are just moving on their own! Fueled by my friends' cheers and support, I pointed my sword skyward, calling upon a holy power. My blade crackles with holy electricity! I charge one last time at the beast Cory has become and scream the spell's name as I swing my sword.

"ZAP!"

As I swing, a thunderbolt emerges from my blade and jolts the enemy. It writhes in pain and screams as it begins to die off.

"**IMPOSSIBLE...!**" It shrieked. "**HOW CAN PUNY HUMANS DEFEAT MIGHTY DEMON...?!**"

It disintegrates into purple fog as it turns back into Cory. He lifelessly stumbles onto the floor. Startled, I quickly run over to him and try to shake him awake. Was he... dead?! No, that can't be!

"Cory!" I yell. "Get up! Don't die on me now!"

For a while, there's no response. Suddenly, a mass of purple energy flies out of Cory's body, then out of the castle and into the distance. My fear quickly turns to relief as he slowly opens his eyes.

"Ngh..." He gasps. "Where... am I? Huh?! David?!"

"Cory! You're alive!"

"What do you know, it's David... The guy who's always better than me..."

"Oh, come on!" Sapphy pouts. "Don't tell me you're still possessed!"

"Haha, I'm just joking. Hey, David? I... I'm sorry. When that thing possessed me... it knew my inner feelings, and I could only watch as you learned the truth... I guess you know who I really am, huh? A monster..."

"What are you talking about?" I say. "Don't say such things. I'd never abandon you, no matter what."

"Yeah... I knew you'd come to save me. I shouldn't have left Legitopia alone... I should've asked to come with you. You were right back there."

"He needs to rest," Esther says. "He's still recovering from having that thing inside him. We should go back to Legitopia. After all, our mission's accomplished, right?"

"Yeah. You're right."

We stepped outside of the castle to avoid banging our heads on the ceiling, then I cast Zoom to take us all to Legitopia. But on our way... I could feel my... consciousness slipping... away...

* * *

The one in which David and his crew accomplishes their mission, and they save Cory! But it seems David's been booted from the memory world again...

I forgot to clarify this in a few chapters, but I am well aware that some spell lines don't exist in the OG Dragon Quest universe, like Spark or Crash. However, just know that anything can happen in a fanfic.


	33. Triple Battle Chaos

I suddenly jolted awake. Where was I? Last thing I remember, I was headed back to Legitopia... But did I get forced out of the memory world? ...Ugh, seems like it. I'm back in the Pokemon Center. I was pretty surprised to learn that I woke up before sunrise. I decided to tell everyone about this later as I closed my eyes and went back to sleep.

Later, at dawn, I ended up getting up before everyone else did, much to their surprise. I recapped every memory I recovered back in the memory world, including Cory, Esther, and Arkano's fall. But they seemed most interested in the skills I learned there.

"Don't you think the skills you've learned in the memory world would remain with you?" Rotom suggested.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"Based on what you've told us, the memory world is designed to help you remember things. Perhaps the skills you've learned were simply you remembering what they were, so maybe it would make sense if you still knew how to do it here."

"That would be so cool!" Ash exclaimed. "What kinda skills did you learn? A new spell, maybe?"

"Well, there's Zap," I explain. "It involves me shooting a thunderbolt from my sword. And then there's Psyche Up... or at least, I think that's what it's called. It increases the power of my next attack... or something, I'm not entirely sure how this power of 'tension' works."

"Awesome! Could I battle you?!"

"Wh-?! But I lost to you last time... Which was like, back in Grama."

"Oh, c'mon, don't be like that. After all, you can't knock it 'til you try it, remember?"

"Ah... I see. Alright then! I'll win this time!"

Ash took us to the battlefield outside the Pokemon Center. But I was surprised to see who was there. It was Victor, Gloria, and Hop! What are the odds of running into the three of them here? But I guess in all fairness, we did leave Kogeta Town much later than they did.

"Hey!" Wesley exclaimed. "Aren't those three the guys we helped before?"

"Sure is," Aaron says. "Hey there! Remember us?"

The three of them turned to face us. They seemed happy to see us again, just like we were.

"Look!" Hop says. "It's Ash and the others!"

"Hi there!" Gloria calls out. "Fancy running into you!"

"What're you guys doing here?" I ask them. "It's awesome to see you guys again!"

"We're just training," Victor explains. "We're headed towards Floji. Gotta train for the gym, you know?"

"Ash and I were also gonna do that too, you know."

"I've got an idea!" Ash says. "Let's have a Triple Battle. You three against David and I!"

"But who's gonna be your third?" Rotom asks.

"Mind if I join in?" Robert volunteers. "The Pokemon Fest in Floji is coming up, and I wanna prepare, too."

"Okay, then! Looks like it'll be Ash, David, and Robert against Victor, Gloria, and Hop!"

The six of us took our positions on the battlefield. I've never participated in a Triple Battle before, but this's gonna be fun. Rotom offers to be the judge, and it begins to explain the rules.

"This battle will be a Triple Battle," Rotom says. "Each trainer will use one Pokemon. The battle is over when all Pokemon on one side is unable to continue!"

"Can I fight?" I ask it. "I was gonna test out my new powers, after all."

"Then David will fight! Alright, then! Ready? GO!"

"I choose you, Milcery!"

"Go for it, Aaron!"

"Let's do this, Grookey!"

"Sobble, come out!"

"Raboot, you're up!"

Hop sends out an unfamiliar Pokemon. I wonder if he recently caught that? I asked Rotom for its entry, and it gives me the data I need:

"Raboot," It recites. "The rabbit Pokemon. A Fire-type. And the evolved form of Scorbunny. Its thick and fluffy fur protects it from the cold and enables it to use hotter fire moves."

"Scorbunny was my second Pokemon after Wooloo," Hop explains. "But now it evolved into a Raboot!"

"That's awesome!" Ash exclaims. "Way to go! But let's win this fight, okay, guys? Now, Milcery! Use Tackle on Grookey!"

Milcery goes in and manages to land an attack. I run in after it and slash the same target. Gloria commands Sobble to use Water Pulse on me. I try to dodge, but I still get hit anyway. Water-type moves sure are something to look out for... I think I had to take Sobble out first. I think Zap would be a good choice!

Meanwhile, Grookey uses Scratch on Milcery, while Raboot uses Double Kick on Aaron. Aaron responds by using Ember on Grookey, which deals a super-effective hit! Grookey goes flying. I take this chance to cast Zap on Sobble to chain another super-effective hit. To my surprise, it deals way more damage than I expected it to!

"What the heck?!" Victor yelps. "That's too strong! You alright, Sobble?!"

"Wow," I gasp. "I never expected Zap to be so powerful."

Raboot uses Flame Charge, and it manages to inflict damage on Milcery with a powerful move. Hop commands Raboot to use it again, and there's no time to dodge as it lands the attack on me. Rotom explained that Flame Charge inflicts damage and makes the user faster. Despite being resistant to the move, I could see that its increased speed made it more threatening.

Sobble uses Water Pulse on me again, and I go down. Aaron tries to protect me, but he's too late, and is rendered vulnerable to Grookey's Magical Leaf. He probably would have gotten hit anyway- According to Rotom, Magical Leaf never misses.

Milcery starts spinning around in a panic. Was something wrong with it? Or was it just too scared to know what to do?

"Milcery, stop!" Ash yells. "You've gotta keep it together! Use Draining Kiss on Raboot!"

Comforted by Ash's voice, Milcery pulls itself together. Before Raboot can react, it gets kissed on the cheek as Milcery latches itself onto Raboot. When Milcery finally pulls away, Raboot flinches. It looks really... embarrassed?

"Oh, boy... again?" Hop mutters.

Raboot blushes, and it runs away, hiding behind Hop's leg. Hop nervously chuckles, and pets his friend.

"What's going on?" Ash asks.

"You see, Raboot can be a little... bashful at times," Hop explains. "I think Milcery's Draining Kiss gave it the wrong idea."

After hearing that, I couldn't help but burst out laughing. I had no idea why, but it was just hilarious. Raboot glared at me, still blushing. It looked like it didn't want to battle anymore, but I guess I could understand that.

"That's not funny," Raboot sneers.

"Haha, sorry. I just couldn't help it," I defend myself.

"Alright then," Rotom says. "I'll stop the battle. The battle is a draw!"

"What?!" Ash says, disappointed. "C'mon, Rotom! Why'd you have to end it now?"

"It's alright, Ash," Hop consoles him. "When Raboot gets like this, it's tough to get it back into battle. Let's continue our battle later, okay?"

* * *

The one in which David returns to the Pokemon world. And they meet up with the Sword & Shield crew! Although Hop's Raboot seems to get a little too embarrassed in their Triple Battle...

Hop's Raboot is a tad more expressive than most Raboot. Just felt like putting that there.


	34. An Encounter Cut Short

After healing up in the Pokemon Center, me and the guys, along with Victor, Gloria, and Hop, left to figure out what to do next. Raboot, of course, was still blushing and embarrassed. And I think I heard Milcery giggle a little.

"Oh, shut up, Milcery!" Raboot yelled. "This is embarrassing, you know!"

"Hey! Raboot!" Ash shot back. "Don't talk to Milcery like that!"

"Uh... Oops. Sorry. Geez..."

"It's alright," Hop says. "Raboot really gets like that when it's embarrassed. Did... Milcery say anything, Raboot?"

"Nah. It's just... uh, laughing at me, I guess."

"I just wanna know," Susie says. "Have you guys ever seen a Hybrimon, other than us?"

"We have," Gloria replies. "And we know we can hear our Pokemon talk when one of them's near. But we don't have any Hybrimon traveling with us."

"I see... But do you have any other Pokemon?"

"Victor recently caught a Skwovet. And I caught a Blipbug! Wanna see them?"

"Oh, yeah! I'd love to see them!" Ash exclaimed.

"Alright, then! Let's go, Blipbug!"

"You too, Skwovet!"

When they both let their Pokemon out, I see a grey squirrel and a blue insect. Rotom read their entries for us.

"Skwovet," Rotom said. "The cheeky Pokemon. A Normal-type. Found in the Galar region, this Pokemon becomes uneasy if its cheeks are ever completely empty of berries. Then there's Blipbug, the larva Pokemon. A Bug-type. A constant collector of information, this Pokemon is very smart. Very strong is what it isn't."

"But why'd you catch it if Blipbug isn't so strong?" I ask Gloria.

"Because it can evolve into Dottler, then into Orbeetle," Gloria explains. "And Orbeetle is a really strong Pokemon!"

"Orbeetle," Rotom interjected. "The seven spot Pokemon. A Bug- and Psychic-type. Upon evolving from Dottler, its brain has grown to a gargantuan size, as has the rest of its body. This Pokemon's intellect and abilities are overpowering."

"That's so cool!" Ash says. "Even though Blipbug isn't strong right now, it'll be beyond awesome when it evolves into Orbeetle!"

"You're headed for the Floji Gym, right?" Hop asks us.

"Not only that, but also for the Pokemon Fest," Robert adds.

"You can expect us to be there, too! We hear this Pokemon Fest's gonna be awesome!"

"You're not wrong. As a long-time fan of Pokemon Fests, I can assure you it's the best thing you can ever take part in Terelm!"

I guess we weren't the only ones hyped up about going to Floji. Believe me, I wish I could just Zoom us all there, but it sucks not being able to Zoom somewhere you haven't been. But then again, it wouldn't be fun if it was so easy, right?

"So what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Wait, what?" I ask. "You're coming with us?"

"Of course!" Victor says. "What's the harm in doing that? Besides, Floji's really close. We should get going already!"

"Yeah, you're right. Floji, here we come!"

With Victor, Gloria, and Hop temporarily joining our team, we'd be in Floji in no time. Not to mention if anything gets in our way, we'd have more firepower! With our massive confidence, we left Rifia Town and got on Route FG to reach Floji.

After walking through a forest, I could finally see a savanna. It looked like Floji was just around the corner!

"And it'll only take ten minutes to get to Floji," Rotom analyzed.

"Why don't we take a break?" Lynn suggested. "I know Floji's close by, but you could always do with a little rest."

"Well.. what do you guys think?" I turned to the guys, and they nodded. We set up our camping gear, and let our Pokemon out to roam around. It was a good thing none of us were hungry- If we were, then... we'd have to stomach another serving of Mystery Food X. And considering we had people who hadn't tasted its wrath (No pun intended), it would be better if we just kept it to ourselves... right?

Ash seemed kinda on edge for a while, now that I think about it.

"Hey, Ash?" I ask him. "Is something the matter?"

"No, not really," He responds. "I just really wanna catch a Pokemon."

"Why now?"

"You see, if I'm going to beat the Floji Gym, then I'm going to need more than just Pikachu and Milcery. Rotom, what Pokemon live here?"

"Hmm..." Rotom paused for a moment to analyze its surroundings. "These do."

"Farfetch'd... Litleo... and Mawile?" I mutter to myself. These were pretty interesting choices, and that wasn't all of them, but it'd take forever for me to list them all.

"Let's see... How about Mawile?" Ash says.

"Mawile?!" Rotom gasps. "You should know that Mawile's a Steel- and Fairy- type, meaning it'll be weak to the Gym Leader's Fire-type Pokemon!"

"Yeah, I know that. But I have won against type disadvantages before! And a lot of them, actually."

"Well... if you say so. The chance of encountering a Mawile here is 35 percent."

"That's a pretty low encounter rate," I observe.

"Yeah, but I'll take it!" Ash declares. "I'll catch that Mawile and get my Floji Gym Badge!"

Ash and I ditch the camp in order to get a Mawile. Lynn's probably gonna freak out about this, but whatever. I may have the maximum amount of Pokemon, but I'll help Ash in any way I can! ...Although, it was easier said than done. I was right when I said 35 percent was a low encounter rate, because all we ever encountered was any Pokemon but Mawile.

"Ugh... No dice," I mutter.

"We can't give up now," Ash says. "We can't quit if we want to beat the Floji Gym!"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Rotom gasps. Was something wrong?

"What's up, Rotom?"

"Look, Ash!" Rotom says. It pointed at something, but I was surprised to see that it was pointing at a Mawile that had collapsed! We rush over to it and see if it's alive, let alone alright.

"I think it's fine. It's just unconscious."

"Don't we have any healing items? I used up all my Oran and Sitrus Berries..."

"This oughta do it!" I declare as I pull a Sitrus Berry from my bag. I give Mawile the berry and let it heal its wounds. Finally, it opened its eyes. Phew...

"You alright, Mawile?" Ash asked it. To my surprise, Mawile looked away. What the-?! That's no way to show respect to someone who saved your life! I was still processing that when Mawile took another glance at Ash, then at me, then at Pikachu. After a pause, it smirked, and jumped away. Without warning, it tries to use Bite on us! We narrowly dodge the attack.

"What's with this Mawile?!" I yell, and draw my sword.

"Wait, David!" Rotom interrupted me. "I think Mawile wants to fight! But it's more like it only wants to fight to get stronger, not because it wants to eat you."

Mawile, knowing what Rotom just said, nods in agreement. So it really does want to fight...? Well then, I'm game! I smile as I step forward, and Pikachu jumps from Ash's shoulder to get ready to battle.

Mawile runs at Pikachu and uses Sucker Punch on it before Pikachu has time to counterattack. Pikachu hastily gets back up and uses Quick Attack, but Mawile's too quick for it and dodges by jumping. However, I take this chance to cast Frizzle on it to deal a super-effective hit!

Mawile falls and hits the floor hard. It struggles to get up, but it forces itself to keep fighting. Pikachu uses Iron Tail to attack, but Mawile jumps up. If it was doing the same thing... Then surely the same attack will work! I cast Frizzle again, and just as I expected, it's a direct hit.

Mawile crashes into the floor again. It looked like it couldn't muster up any more strength to continue. So... that was it? That was the battle? Mawile started pounding the floor in frustration.

"Hey... what's wrong?" Ash asked timidly. He tried to approach Mawile, but it pushed him away, and ran off.

"That's kinda weird," Rotom says. "First it wants to fight, then it acts like a sore loser and runs away..."

"No," I counter. "There's definitely a reason why it wanted to fight other than doing it on a whim."

* * *

The one in which Ash decides to catch a Pokemon, and sets his sights on a Mawile. But it runs away...

After a few chapters, you might see Ash do something he never did in the anime.


	35. Stealth Curry

After beating a Mawile that challenged us to a fight, we returned to the camp. I suspected that Mawile had reasons for fighting other than just simply wanting to. But would I be right?

"Alright, why'd you two just up and disappear?!" Lynn screamed at us. Yeesh...! I forgot she gets like this when we run off like this...

"Wh-What did we do, Lynn?!" Ash says, out of surprise.

"You just got up and left!" Gloria yelled. "We thought you were captured by Team Noir or some other evil force we don't know about yet! Do you have any idea how worried sick we were?!" Wh-?! Now Gloria?! Where'd she come from?! Ugh... looks like these girls have some common ground...

"Lynn... Gloria..." Susie sighs. "That was just you two. The rest of us weren't... that high-strung, you know."

"W-Well, yeah, I guess... But still! I thought you guys were gone for good!"

"She's right," Lynn agrees. "You could have just warned us."

After a few apologies, Lynn and Gloria let us off the hook. I looked around the campsite, looking for something to do. I could see Robert and Victor talking, so I got closer to listen in.

"...Really?" Victor says. "Wow, and I thought Gloria was enough..."

"I know, right?" Robert says. "Although I don't know if Lynn is more overprotective than Gloria..."

I couldn't really catch much of their conversation, but I did know they were talking about Lynn and Gloria. I was able to keep in my snickers so I could stay under the radar. Speaking of staying under the radar... Maybe I could try giving cooking another shot.

When nobody was looking, I snagged the cooking equipment and went a considerable distance away from the campsite so nobody could see what I was doing. I took a look at my inventory. No key ingredients... I recalled what happened last time I made curry, and I used Tamato Berries to make it overwhelmingly spicy (At least, according to the others).

Now all I had were a handful of Oran and Sitrus Berries, along with one last Leppa Berry. I decided to hold onto that Leppa Berry for later- conserving magical energy is important to me. I decided to make totally plain curry this time around. No key ingredients, no particularly-flavored berries... Just good, old-fashioned, plain curry. I was pretty sure the Oran and Sitrus Berries wouldn't affect its flavor, so I threw in two of each into the mix.

Using the methods I already knew how to cook, I made enough curry for everyone. And I was feeling pretty confident about it too- It smelled pretty good, and it didn't give off any unsettling miasma. I was pretty surprised nobody caught me- The smell surely would have wafted over to the campsite and attracted the guys' attention. But so far, no interruptions.

I brought back my creation the campsite, and I set the table while nobody spotted me. I had to say, I thought this whole "stealth mission" would end in disaster, but I was actually able to pull it off!

Ash was the first to notice the food when I finished setting everything up, and he rounded up everyone. Although... everyone except Ash, Victor, Gloria, and Hop recoiled in horror when they learned I was the one to make it.

"Relax," I say. "I didn't use anything that would make it excessive in... any way that wouldn't make it qualify."

"What are you talking about?" Victor asked.

"You... don't wanna know," Robert dreadfully says.

"Let's just hope it'll work out this time," Aaron mutters to himself.

I took a bite out of the plain curry I made... and was actually surprised. I actually made some good food! I thought it'd end in disaster, but turns out you can't really go wrong with normal curry.

"You know what?" Ash says. "This is actually a big improvement!"

"It is," Lynn agrees.

"How'd you do it?" Chloe asks me.

"Well... I didn't really add anything other than Oran and Sitrus Berries. If I added anything else... I'm pretty sure it would have tipped the scales in the flavor departments."

"I think you're exaggerating," Rotom counters. "You can probably add a few Pecha Berries or Cheri Berries and it wouldn't be spoiled."

"Yeah... Well, I'll do better next time, okay?"

* * *

The one in which David undergoes a stealth mission just to cook. And he actually does well!

FYI, I accidentally let the previous chapter come out later than when I finished it. Sorry about that. And what do you know? First chapter less than one thousand words in a while!


	36. One Wicked Promise

After we ate up, we put away the folding table and chairs, along with all the cooking equipment I temporarily half-inched. I couldn't stop thinking about that Mawile, though. It wanted to fight us, then all of a sudden it runs away...? Surely it wanted to do something about something else... but what?

"Your guess is as good as mine," Ash says. "The only way we'll find out is to find that Mawile."

"Yeah, you're right," I agree. "Hey, guys! Let's go!"

"Go where?" Lynn asks.

"Oh yeah, I haven't told you yet. We found a Mawile, but we think something's wrong with it. We're thinking of tracking it down. Wanna come with?"

"So that's what you ran off for..." Gloria whispers to herself.

"Sure thing!" Robert says. "Why don't we all go?"

"I'm on board with that," Victor concurs.

"Then let's get going!" I cheer. We decided to leave the camp up; as we were going to come back eventually. I took the guys to where we initially found Mawile. Although... something made us stay out of sight. There was a battle going on! It was between a trainer and... the same Mawile from before?

"That's a Lairon!" Ash exclaims.

"That's my cue," Rotom steps in. "Lairon. The iron armor Pokemon. A Steel- and Rock-type. It digs up iron ore for food, and smashes its steely body up against others in battles over territory."

As we watched the battle, Mawile runs at Lairon trying to land an attack, but despite its target's bulk, it's able to dodge with ease. Lairon then counterattacks with Metal Claw, which Mawile dodges by jumping. But... wait a minute, then that means...!

"Use Mud-Slap," The trainer mutters.

Lairon fires balls of mud at Mawile, and all it can do is flail uselessly in the air, unable to protect itself in any way. It takes a super-effective hit to the face, and it falls to the floor, fainted. But despite that, it forces itself to get up. Although the trainer looks like he's made up his mind about something...

"Lairon, return." He recalls his Lairon back into its Poke Ball, then turns to Mawile. "Well, that's that. Mawile, you and I are through. You promised."

Mawile looks horrified. The trainer pulls another Poke Ball from his pocket.

"A Poke Ball?" Allison asks.

"So Mawile was one of that guy's Pokemon?" I think out loud.

Before Mawile can stop him, the trainer drops the Poke Ball to the ground, and crushes it with his foot. All of us gasp at this sight. He really was releasing his own Pokemon just from losing a spar?!

"Ngh...! That's not right!" Lynn says, frustrated.

"What's done is done," The trainer says. "Now get lost. And don't let me ever see you again." And with that, he turns on his toes and abruptly leaves, leaving Mawile in shock. It stares at the remains of its shattered Poke Ball without a word. I could see tears drop from its cheeks...

"That's it," Ash finally says. "I'm gonna do something about this."

"Yeah," I agree. "We can't just leave Mawile like that."

Ash and I step out of our cover, with the others following behind. Mawile eventually notices us, and is initially surprised to see us. But it looks away, just like it did last time. Ash isn't fazed.

"Hey. I know you're upset and all, but... why'd your trainer destroy your Poke Ball?"

"Maw... Mawile-maw-mawile," Mawile explained. "Maw-mawile, mawile..."

"Huh? What's it saying?" I ask.

"I don't even know," Wesley says. "I can't understand it."

"I do, though," Rotom says. "It's saying its trainer promised he would let it stay around if Mawile beat his Lairon. But if Mawile lost, he'd release Mawile."

"Maw... Mawile. Mawile-maw...!"

"It's saying it's weak, and that's why it lost."

"Then... you want to get stronger, right?" Mawile slowly nodded. "Then we can help you out. And once you're strong enough, we can help you beat him!" Mawile looks a little reluctant.

"Isn't that why you challenged Ash and I?" I asked. "So that you could beat your trainer, right?" Mawile is surprised to hear that. It looks at me, then back at Ash. Finally, it smiles and looking us at the eye, accepted our offer. According to Rotom's translation, Mawile wanted to fight Pikachu and I again, which we agreed to.

Mawile runs at me and uses Sucker Punch. It was so fast I couldn't counterattack...! And not to mention it was super effective... But I hang in there. I cast Frizzle on it to exploit its weakness. But Mawile dodges by jumping. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt, which hits its helpless target, and falls to the floor again.

"Don't do the same thing over and over!" Ash says. "If you do that, your moves will become more predictable!"

Since my magic was starting to run out, I decided to conserve it. I dashed at Mawile and thrust my sword right at it. But to my surprise, Mawile doesn't dodge by jumping— instead, it dodges to the side! Before I have a chance to land another attack, Mawile uses Bite for another super-effective hit.

"Yeah! That's more like it! Now, Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"

Pikachu turns its tail into iron and swings it at Mawile, but Mawile dodges backward. Mawile quickly follows up by using Astonish on Pikachu, who flinches. Mawile takes this chance to use Bite again, this time on Pikachu.

"Alright! You're getting the hang of it, Mawile!"

Mawile looks very pleased with itself. It suddenly approaches Ash. Did Mawile want something from him?

"What's up, Mawile?"

Mawile flashes something tied around its neck. It's... actually, I don't even know what that is. It's very unfamiliar to me... But Allison, Robert, and Lynn are surprised to see what it is. Even Rotom is fascinated.

"That's a Mawilite!" Rotom bleeps.

"What's a Mawilite?" Ash and I ask in unison.

"It's one of the few Mega Stones, and it can let Mawile Mega Evolve!"

"For real?!" I exclaim. "That's awesome! Surely it'll give us the upper hand in battles!"

Mawile pointed at Ash's Ultigauntlet. According to Rotom's translation, it said it wanted to Mega Evolve when it would rematch its former trainer. But it was thankful for the advice Ash gave it, and was confident it could win now.

"Where's your trainer now?"

Mawile pointed in a particular direction, and thought he wasn't too far off.

"I see. Alright, guys! Let's find that trainer!"

* * *

The one in which Mawile's trainer releases it for losing a spar... But Ash and friends help it get back on its feet! And Mawile reveals it can Mega Evolve!

Just a heads up, before the Floji arc begins, I'll take a break. I've been working on this fanfic for a long time, and I feel like I've earned a small hiatus.


	37. A Battle for Redemption

After picking up on Mawile's former trainer's trail, we began to pursue him. We had just witnessed Mawile's trainer release it simply from losing, but we helped it get back on its feet. Now, we were going after the trainer for a rematch.

"Is he really that far away?" I ask. It felt like it's been a while since we started tailing him.

"You gotta learn some patience," Wesley says. "Not everything happens instantaneously."

"Yeah, I know that... but it just feels that way, you know?"

"Well, looks like we won't have to wait any longer," Victor says. He was right— I could see the trainer up ahead. He wasn't aware of our presence, though, so Ash quickly got his attention by calling out to him.

"Huh? Oh, great," He sighed. "I told you not to let me see you again, Mawile."

"Why'd you release Mawile?" Ash says immediately. "Just because it lost to you, doesn't mean it shouldn't be your Pokemon anymore!"

"So... you saw everything. Fine then, I'll tell you the whole thing. I'll get to the point. Mawile and I kept losing battles. And I was pretty sure Mawile was just weak. So I challenged it a few times, and I beat it every single time. That's when I realized— I didn't want a Pokemon that made me lose over and over. But I was willing to give it one last chance."

"One last chance?" Hop repeats.

"Yeah. I temporarily released it into the wild. I told it had a week to get stronger on its own. After those seven days passed, I came back to challenge Mawile again. We promised if Mawile won, it could stay with me. But if it lost, then we'd go our separate ways. Then you know the rest."

"What kind of mentality is that?!" Ash yelled. "If a Pokemon's weak, a trainer should give their best effort to make it stronger!"

"Tch. You're wrong. Winning is all that matters."

"I've met more people like you than I would've liked. And all of them were wrong. I proved it to them."

"If you wanna prove it to me, then why not beat I, Jacob, in a battle? Surely you've seen Mawile try to beat my Lairon. It has to be between them."

"I accept."

Jacob sent out his Lairon, and Mawile stepped up to the plate. If I know Ash, I know he'll win this! There's no way he can lose to some jerk like him!

"You can do it, Ash!" I cheer.

"Give it your all, Mawile!" Robert hollers.

"Thanks, guys," Ash says.

"Doesn't matter how much support you're getting from your stupid friends," Jacob mocks us. "You're still gonna lose. Lairon, use Mud-Slap."

Lairon fires balls of mud at Mawile. The move is normally weak, but since Mawile is weak to Ground-type moves, it does a little more. Although I think Jacob was trying to do something else... Since Mud-Slap reduces accuracy, it might be a problem.

"How dare you insult my friends! Mawile, use Bite!"

Despite Mawile's slightly-reduced accuracy, Mawile manages to go in and land the attack. Ash commands Mawile to use Sucker Punch, and it's able to attack again before Lairon can even react. Lairon counters with Rock Tomb, which hits and reduces Mawile's agility.

"Use Sucker Punch again!"

"Don't let him. Use Protect."

Mawile quickly goes in to attack, but Lairon summons a barrier that negates the move! According to Rotom, Protect nullifies damage from every attack. This... could be a problem. If he kept on using Protect, Mawile wouldn't be able to get a hit in...

"You're just as weak as ever, Mawile. So let's wrap this up quickly."

Jacob flashes something on his Ultigauntlet, which I hadn't caught before. A Z-Crystal?! With it, he strikes a series of poses.

"Use Tectonic Rage."

Lairon stomps on the ground, causing a fissure to open up beneath Mawile, who falls in. I can't see anything after that...! Is Mawile gonna be alright?! Ash, you gotta think of something...!

"Run away, Mawile! Jump using the falling rocks!"

I can't tell what's going on, but I'm on the edge of my seat. Suddenly, I hear the sound of something hitting something else, and Mawile goes flying out of the fissure. Lairon follows, and lands in front of Jacob. Mawile is still tumbling in the air, and is helpless, just like how it kept on rendering itself vulnerable by jumping.

"Don't take any chances. Use Rock Tomb."

Lairon fires more of those rocks at the helpless Mawile, which manage to hit. Mawile tumbles to the floor yet again. It doesn't seem to be moving. Is...? Is that it...?

"Hmph. Should have known Mawile would've lost like the weakling it is."

"Mawile, are you alright?! Get up, please!"

Mawile doesn't move. But after a while, it forces itself to stand on its feet again! That Mawile doesn't give up, does it? Awesome!

"Huh. Maybe I shouldn't have underestimated it..."

"Alright, Mawile! Now use—" Mawile gestures to Ash not to call out a move yet. "Huh? What's up?" Mawile flashes the Mawilite it's wearing at Ash. "You... wanna do it?" It nods. "Then here we go. This is my first time ever Mega Evolving a Pokemon, but I'll do it! **MEGA EVOLVE!**"

Touching the orb embedded within his Ultigauntlet, Ash releases orange light from within the orb. The Mawilite releases purple light that flows into the orange light, and finally lights up the area with a blinding light. When the light subsides, Mawile emerges, taken on a whole new form!

"Mawile," Rotom says. "The deceiver Pokemon. Mega Evolved form. A Steel- and Fairy-type. It has an extremely vicious disposition. It grips prey in its two sets of jaws and tears them apart with raw power."

"So... you're finally using Mega Evolution against me?" Jacob asked. "Doesn't matter. You'll still lose."

"Don't count us out yet!" Ash yelled. "Mawile, use Bite!"

Mawile runs at Lairon and crushes it with its two sets of jaws. It deals much more damage than a normal Bite would! Rotom explained that upon Mega Evolving, Mawile's Ability changes to Huge Power, which doubles its physical attack power.

"Ngh...! Come on, Lairon! We can't let this weakling beat us! Use Rock Tomb!"

"Destroy those incoming rocks by using Bite!"

Lairon fires more of those rocks at Mawile, but due to Mega Evolving and its new Ability, Mawile crushes those rocks with its jaws easily. Mawile uses Sucker Punch, which connects and sends Lairon flying. Lairon faints upon hitting the floor.

"YES!" Ash cheers.

"You won, Ash!" I congratulate him. "Awesome job!"

Mawile looks thrilled to bits. Turning to Ash, it returned to its normal form, smiling from ear to ear. Jacob, stunned at the loss, stood there, mouth hanging open.

"So, Jacob? Now do you see? Even the weakest Pokemon can become incredibly strong!"

"*sigh* Fine... I suppose you were right. Lairon, you fought well. Return." Jacob returns Lairon to its Poke Ball, then looks Mawile in the eye. "Mawile... I think I was wrong about you too. Do you... wanna rejoin my team?"

Mawile turned back to Jacob, who pulled out another Poke Ball, obviously not the one he destroyed earlier. Mawile appeared to be thinking for a moment. Finally, it turns its back on Jacob, and walks towards Ash, coming to a stop beside him.

"Mawile..." Ash gasps. "Are you saying...?"

"I see... I suppose you'd think that way, considering how I treated you. Well then... You never told me your name, did you?"

"I'm Ash."

"Okay, Ash. Take care of Mawile for me, okay? Guess I'll see ya around. Bye."

And with that, Jacob turns on his toes and leaves. Ash looks at Mawile, and Mawile looks back.

"Mawile, do you really wanna...?"

"Maw!" Mawile says. "Mawile-maw!"

"It's saying it thinks you're reliable," Rotom translates. "I think it wants to come with you!"

"You do?! AWESOME! It'd be great to have you on the team, Mawile!" Ash gets a Poke Ball from his pocket. "Alright, then! Go, Poke Ball!"

Ash throws the Poke Ball at Mawile, who goes inside. It begins to shake... and the button flashes green. That's Ash's third Pokemon!

"Yeah! I just caught a Mawile!"

"Awesome job, dude!" I say.

"Your team's growing stronger!" Liana adds. "There's no way you're gonna lose to the Floji Gym Leader now!"

"Haha, thank you. All of you. But standing around won't do us any good. Let's get to Floji!"

"Yeah!" All of us cheer.

* * *

The one in which Ash defeats Mawile's former trainer in a battle, and catches it!

The next chapter will begin the Floji arc. But I'm going to take a 2-week break, meaning I will begin working on the next chapter on April 20.


End file.
